"Ace of Spades"

“Ace of Spades” is a painting about celebration and success, its about Armand de Brignac Champagne, colloquially known as the "Ace of Spades", by its famous owner "Jay Z'" it's amazing bottle design, its references in pop culture and its unquestionable quality. When I first saw the striking bottle design and catchy name I was intrigued , then hearing the backstory of why Jay Z developed the brand , I knew I had to paint it. I'm always drawn in by reflective surfaces and what they do to light and shapes, combined with the curves on a bottle , it becomes a winning composition that I'll paint again and again .The Champagne spray as it opens is always fun and exciting , the challenge for me was to capture this moment and freeze it in time , along with the many interesting dropplets how they play with light, they are like mini magnifiers that distort and enlarge whats ever behind. “Ace of Spades” has a reputation as a party Champagne but behind the high roller Image it is made by the Cattier family, which founded its Champagne house in 1763 and have a reputation for excellence it is one of the world's most established champagne brands. Jay-Z’s journey with Ace of Spades began in 2006, a year after he signed Rihanna to her first record deal. At the time, the Brooklyn-born mogul called for a boycott from Cristal champagne after CEO Frédéric Rouzaud said, "What can we do? We can't forbid people from buying it," in response to being asked about the brand’s popularity among rappers at the time. Later that year, Jay-Z debuted his champagne brand by featuring its signature reflective metallic bottle (Silver ,Gold and platinum) in his "Show Me What You Got" video.The popularity and strong sales of Ace of Spades helped boost Jay-Z’s fortune to $1 billion by 2019, earning him Forbes recognition as the first hip hop artist to reach the 10-figure milestone. Ace of Spades sells for over $1000 a bottle making it one of the most expensive Champagne on the market according to a Jay-Z verse on Meek Mill’s 2018 “What’s Free,” Ace of Spades is worth “half a B,” in early 2021 Luxury beverage giant LVMH Moët Hennessy acquired a 50% stake in Jay Z’s champagne brand for $300M, cementing “Ace of Spades” Armand de Brignac as a luxury icon for current and future generations of customers.