Back in high-school, I loved U2. Today I have an appreciation. However, my friend Michelle loves them in a fanatical way – to the point of meeting the band several times and playing a big role in the formation of the official fan club website.

But back in high-school, I would doodle out little Gerald Scarfe/Pink Floyd inspired drawings, watercolors and whatnots. In the process I would tag them with some words from the U2 song Bullet The Blue Sky – never quite finishing a phrase or two. This made the drawings into a series and Michelle sought to collect them all.

Next to my mother, she’s my biggest fan.

Michelle’s 40th birthday is coming up, so I blocked out an evening, and came up with this as a gift to her – to finally complete the series as started in high-school.

Bullet The Blue Sky. January 26th 2011. Acrylic, ink, wire and tape on canvas board. 20"x24".

Bullet The Blue Sky. January 26th 2011. Acrylic, ink, wire and tape on canvas board. 20"x24".

I was working pretty fast and loose (something I rarely do) with a less than stellar reference photo. The proportions are out of whack, but I think it works for this piece. The song Bullet The Blue Sky is awash in distortion, so why not a distorted painting that is meant to convey some of that mood?