“I’ve always been fascinated by the ritual surrounding a great cigar and a fine bourbon—the anticipation, the craftsmanship, the pause in the day when everything slows down. With this piece, I wanted to take that feeling and turn it into something visual. It’s not simply about the cigar or the bourbon; it’s about the atmosphere they create and the memories they leave behind.”
— Michael John Valentine
There are certain combinations that seem to have been created for the same moment: a great cigar, a glass of bourbon, and enough time to enjoy both.
Fuente Opus X Bourbon grew out of my fascination with that moment.
For me, cigar art has never been simply about painting a cigar. The cigar represents something larger—the ritual, the craftsmanship, the anticipation, the people who gather around it, and the quiet moments when the rest of the world seems to slow down. Bourbon carries much of the same character. It is about patience, tradition, craftsmanship, and the appreciation of something that has been carefully made.
Put the two together and you have an atmosphere that is almost impossible to describe with words.
That is what I wanted to capture in this work.
My approach to this piece was not to create a literal still life and simply reproduce the objects in front of me. I wanted to push the imagery toward something more expressive and contemporary. The cigar and bourbon become elements within a larger visual experience—part recognizable subject, part abstraction, part memory.
That balance is important to my work.
I have spent decades working with photography, painting, color, texture and mixed-media techniques, and I enjoy taking something familiar and allowing it to become something unexpected. I want the viewer to recognize what they are seeing, but I also want them to spend a little time looking beyond the obvious.
A cigar can tell a story before it is ever lit.
It can represent celebration, accomplishment, friendship, solitude or simply the pleasure of taking an hour for yourself. A bottle of bourbon can do much the same. Both have histories. Both have collectors. Both have devoted followers who understand that the experience is about far more than the object itself.
That is particularly true with the culture surrounding premium cigars.
There is something almost ceremonial about opening a cigar, examining it, preparing it, lighting it and allowing the experience to unfold. There is no reason to rush it. In a world that seems increasingly determined to make everything faster, the cigar remains an invitation to slow down.
That idea has always appealed to me.
My cigar and bourbon paintings are therefore less about the products themselves and more about the lifestyle and emotions surrounding them. They are pieces for people who appreciate craftsmanship and who understand that some of life’s best moments aren’t necessarily the loudest ones.
Sometimes they happen sitting quietly with a drink in your hand.
Sometimes they happen with a friend.
Sometimes they happen alone.
And sometimes the memory of that moment stays with you long after the cigar has burned away and the glass has been emptied.
With Fuente Opus X Bourbon, I wanted to translate that feeling into art.
The visual treatment allows the subject to move between realism and abstraction. Rather than locking the viewer into a single interpretation, I wanted the composition to have movement, depth and personality. There is an energy to the imagery, but there is also a sense of stillness—the contradiction that exists in the best cigar moments.
It is a piece that can work beautifully in a cigar room, bourbon room, study, office, library, lounge or any space designed for conversation and relaxation. At the larger canvas sizes, the artwork becomes especially immersive, allowing the textures, colors and details to become part of the environment rather than simply something hanging on the wall.
I also like the fact that this image can speak to someone who knows cigars intimately as well as someone who simply appreciates the visual character of the subject.
You don’t have to be a cigar collector to enjoy cigar art.
You simply have to appreciate the story.
For me, that story is about craftsmanship.
It is about slowing down.
It is about appreciating something that was made well.
And it is about giving yourself permission to enjoy the moment.
After more than five decades as an artist, I continue to find inspiration in subjects that have a strong sense of place, personality and history. Cigars and bourbon happen to possess all three.
They also provide an incredible visual vocabulary—deep colors, rich textures, dramatic shapes, reflective surfaces and the suggestion of smoke moving through the air. Those qualities give me plenty to work with as a photographer and painter.
But ultimately, Fuente Opus X Bourbon isn’t really about a cigar and a bottle.
It is about the pause.
That small space in the day when you put everything else aside and simply enjoy where you are.
That is the experience I wanted this artwork to evoke.
Look at it closely and you may see the cigar and bourbon. Look a little longer and I hope you feel the moment surrounding them.
— Michael John Valentine
