Volunteer Allan Dreyer donates paintings for park fundraiser

If you've seen this fellow out on the trail, meadow roving with his hearing dog Damien, you'd never know that he also has another talent: painting!


Over the years, Allan Dreyer has painted dozens of pictures of Mount Rainier, from all angles and in all seasons. He has donated several of his paintings to Mount Rainier National Park already, to hang in the offices of rangers. We enjoy them when the weather is as cloudy and rainy as it is today; right now, I'm looking at a magnificent picture of Myrtle Falls surrounded by monkeyflowers, lupines, and paintbrush, with the Mountain rising majestically behind against a backdrop of blue with a few whispy clouds around it.

For the grand reopening of the Paradise Inn, Allan has donated four of his paintings to Washington's National Park Fund, which will auction them off to special guests at a fundraiser on the night of May 15th. Here's an exclusive first look at the paintings that will be auctioned. Of course, my photographs don't come close to capturing the artistry of the real things!

Rainier and Snow Lake from Tatoosh -
When I became deaf 17 years ago, my climbing days ended. Last fall when I hiked into Snow Lake in the southeastern area of the park, I looked up at the ridges of the Tatoosh and wondered what the lake would look like from on top. This painting is how I believe Snow Lake and Rainier would appear from near Unicorn Peak.

Tahoma - Emmons Route
Once while hiking around Naches Peak, I took a number of pictures of Mt. Rainier with a 300 mm lens with the idea of painting this picture. The painting shows Emmons glacier which was the route I climbed to the summit in 1986.

Mt. Rainier from Indian Henry's
One August day a few years ago, I stayed at the patrol cabin. As the sun started to set, I took some photos of Mt. Rainier and used them as a basis for this painting.

Nighttime Palette Knife Painting -
Many years ago, I was hiking on a snowy winter night to my igloo, when the clouds opened and allowed a full moon to illuminate the mountain. It was so quiet; the only thing I heard was the crunch of my snowshoes on the snow.