Folks over on the Meadiacs Facebook group are saying that Bright Eyed needs to be our new permanent brew. And while we're pretty happy with the flavor, part of the credit absolutely must go to Ely Porter, or El Gormoriso, the artist behind the trippy Bright Eyed label.
We first became aware of Ely's work when he submitted to our sour label art competition in 2020. We loved his design so very much, we decided to save it for something special.
Ely was kind enough to let us sit down and probe his brain about art, mead, and everything that goes into his
How did you get into art?
I've been drawing as long as I can remember. As a child my mom would give me stacks of copy paper to keep me out of her hair, we didn't have a TV until I got older.
Your style is so unusual and cool. How did you develop it? Who or what inspires you?
Thank you! That's really about the best compliment you can give an artist.
My style is not something I give a lot of conscious thought to, it just comes from a place of controlled chaos. It stems from my love of fantasy and comic art, but I always loved the look of the villains more than the heroes. Darth vader looks cooler than Luke Skywalker. Skeletor looks cooler than He-Man.
I'm an outsider artist, so I have no formal training beyond grade school/highschool art classes, but I was always doodling. And there has been a lot of trial and error. I've always had an overactive imagination, to say the least.
My style is not something I give a lot of conscious thought to, it just comes from a place of controlled chaos. It stems from my love of fantasy and comic art, but I always loved the look of the villains more than the heroes. Darth vader looks cooler than Luke Skywalker. Skeletor looks cooler than He-Man.
I'm an outsider artist, so I have no formal training beyond grade school/highschool art classes, but I was always doodling. And there has been a lot of trial and error. I've always had an overactive imagination, to say the least.
I saw Dali's "Persistence of Memory" in high school and that started me on the path of surrealism, but I've always loved looking at tattoo art, comic books, Dr. Suess and Ralph Bakshi's art/animation as well as Alice in Wonderland. My style really started to develop while hanging out and getting high with my friends, listening to music; mostly in garages, barnes and dimly lit stoner pads.
Music is by far my biggest source of inspiration; my Inktober playlist is 154 hours long and I just hit shuffle. The more abrupt the changes from one song to the next the better. I've heard a lot of artists describe this feeling of "channeling" and that sort of flow is what I live for.
As far as visual artists that list is pretty endless but I'm really into Dali, Escher, Gieger, Alex Grey, Heironimus Basche, Gustov Dore...
How did you come to find out about Havoc/GF mead?
A couple of my friends knew about you and told me about the contest.
Tell us a little about your contest entry and the subsequent design we bought from you for Bright Eyed.
I worked in a lot of convenience stores and cafes throughout my life and always fantasized about one day seeing my stuff on a can, so this was truly a dream come true for me.
My friends told me about this contest and I thought: "I probably won't win, but maybe they'll like what they see and it will lead to a future opportunity." I can't really express the feeling I got when I read the email saying they(you) wanted to buy the design and do a custom batch for it.
It's certainly the best exposure I've gotten thus far, and it's a really wild and satisfying feeling. The whole experience has been a bit overwhelming, but in a good way. I'm really grateful for the opportunity, as well as this follow up!
Are you working on any other projects right now?
I'm almost ready to start crowdfunding/pre-selling a deck of poker cards that I've been working on collaboratively with a close friend and I've been trying to get more coloring book downloads up on my Ko-fi page.
As well as the 20 or so personal pieces I have going. I'm also trying to build a studio from the ground up with very little budget or know how, so that's been an interesting challenge.
Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?
I have three original pieces in a group show at the Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester that is running until the 28th of March. I'm really happy to be able to say that again after all the cancelations and closures.
Where online can we find you and your work?
I'm @elgomoriso on Instagram, Facebook, Threadless, Ko-fi and YouTube although I'm pretty bad with technology so some of those aren't as developed as I'd like them to be.
Thank you so much for chatting with us, Ely!
Remember: now is your chance to have your art featured on a Havoc can! Read more here.
Remember: now is your chance to have your art featured on a Havoc can! Read more here.
