From the manifold world of cigars Dirk Prautzsch singles out motifs for his images. This can be the development of a specific cigar brand a connoisseur prefers, or the history of the cigar manufacturers of a country such as Cuba, Nicaragua or Honduras. Dirk Prautzsch even creates pictures of company logos like the characteristic head of a Latin American Indian for Cohiba or the three distinctive T for Trinidad cigars – composing hundreds of selected cigar bands for each piece of art.

Depending on the theme, the idea and also the financial frame for a picture, colourful vistas, tobacco leaves and cedarwood sheets are used alongside cigar bands. Already, providing the material requires craftsmanship: historic vistas, mostly embossed and gilded lithographs that are used to decorate cigar boxes, are themselves treasured collectibles.

An image that solely consists of cigar bands an ardent collector has carefully removed from cigars he smoked himself to then have them worked into a piece of art by Dirk Prautzsch is particularly exclusive – an individual trophy of the passion for cigars.

To get an idea for yourself just have a look into the online galley of the art of cigar bands!