"Honey," left, and "The Dinner Party," right. Mixed media.

One of the challenging aspects of being an artist is Daily Practice. For those of us who must work 9-5 but view our artwork as more than just a hobby, it can be hard to tap into creativity every day while taking care of other responsibilities. Life gets in the way of art unless you make art a way of life.

Adrian Harris is a young artist who is committed to maintaining a constant output of work, no matter how small. He is an associate at the Plaza Artist Materials store in Rockville, Maryland and he tries to spend as much time as possible practicing his craft.

Nadine, the manager at Rockville, says that he “draws constantly and on everything; boxes, transfers and scrap papers all over the store. He is so inspiring because his hand is always moving when he is not checking in shipments.”

Adrian says he enjoys taking a mixed-media approach and having a variety of materials at hand when creating a new piece. Studying abstract expressionism and impressionism has had a significant influence on his process: “I like to throw paint,” he says, but ultimately at the conclusion of a piece, “arrive at surrealism.” You can see this in many of his paintings, which appear to have started as amalgams of color created with quick, impressionistic strokes that have then been coaxed into creatures, figures and objects.

Adrian paints nearly every day and it appears his dedication will continue to reward him in the future. Adrian says, “The summer of my junior year in college I circumvented the need for a summer job by selling art. I compiled over 100 of my works from a five year period and turned my house into an exhibition space.” He titled the show “Firework Eye Candy.”

Adrian says that some of his favorite products to work with include Golden Hi-Flows, Derwent XL paper and Montana Acrylic Markers.

You can find Adrian's work online at www.mangoraincloud.com and also on Thumbtack.

"Land of Milk and Honey" at left and a detail from the work at right. Mixed media.

 "Untitled" by Adrian Harris. Acrylic ink.