This is Plein Air Podcast episode number 253 with British artist and plein air mountaineer James Hart Dyke, who shares a story about a plein air adventure all of us wish we could have been a part of: James Hart Dyke climbed and painted Mont Blanc, which has an elevation of almost 15,800 feet, making it the highest summit of Western Europe. It was a treacherous trip of navigating around crevasses, going up glaciers, and avoiding avalanches and rock falls. Failure was not an option. Why did he do it? He wanted to reenact and emulate as closely as possible the conditions under which the legendary French painter of the Alps, Gabriel Loppé, made his pair of Summit paintings at sunset in 1873. Listen as they discuss: – The inspirational moment he had as an 8-year-old, which led him to his path as a painter – How studying architecture in college launched his professional artistic career (“It’s a bit dreamy, but that’s how my career started.”) – Dealing with frequent rain as a plein air painter in the UK (“Plein air painting is not for the faint-hearted.”) – The positive aspect of having what he calls “generators,” or challenges when painting on location – His thrilling experience with the British Intelligence Service and painting combat zones – How the producers of the James Bond films discovered him and his work (“It was very thrilling, but I’d say it all comes out of plein air landscape painting.”) – His experiences with King Charles and the Royal Party – How his plein air Summit adventure came to be, how he prepared himself physically, mentally, and logistically as a painter – His takeaways from the extreme experience and what he learned about himself – The plein air movement in the UK – And what’s next for James: Painting one of America’s iconic parks And in this week’s Art Marketing Minute: What can you do to attract more out-of-town buyers? Are there ways to vet potential buyers so you don’t waste your time? Listen and learn! Related Links: – James Hart Dyke online: https://jameshartdyke.com/ – Plein Air Japan: https://pleinairjapan.com/spring-2024 – Realism Live: https://realismlive.com/ – Plein Air Magazine: https://pleinairmagazine.com/ – Fall Color Week: https://fallcolorweek.com/ – European Fine Art Trip: https://finearttrip.com/stockholm-madrid – Sunday Coffee: https://coffeewitheric.com/ – Submit Art Marketing Questions: artmarketing.com/questions The Plein Air Podcast has been named the #1 Painting Podcast by FeedSpot for two years in a row. New in 2023: FeedSpot has named Eric’s Art Marketing Minute Podcast as one of the Top 25 Art Business and Marketing Blogs on the web.