U2’s the Edge buys Titanic artwork at Belfast charity auction

It’s not every day one of the world’s biggest rock stars rocks up and buys something you’ve created.

That’s why Belfast artist Stephen Whalley found it “a bit of a shocker” when U2’s The Edge found his portrait of the Titanic Museum even better than the real thing, before buying it at a charity auction last weekend.

Stephen, who created the painting live during the event at the museum, described it as “a bit of a pinnacle” of his career.

“I was so pleased, I couldn’t believe it,” he told BBC News NI.

“It’s sort of like a pat on the back for myself, to say, you know: ‘This is working. You must be doing something right to be standing up here and for this to happen.’

“I’ve been a big U2 fan myself from when I was a wee boy – and I’m listening to it here most nights as well when I’m painting in the studio.”

Stephen, who worked on the painting while guests attended the event for the Cancer Fund for Children, said the Edge gave him some wordless encouragement during the evening.

“He walked past me and sort of looked over at the painting, at what I was doing, and he sort of just nodded and gave me a thumbs up and a little wink.”

That encouragement turned real when the Edge began bidding on the painting, a move that left Stephen, who said he put his “heart and soul” into the artwork, feeling “very humbled”.

“I was up on stage, I said my piece, they started auctioning it off – the Edge was sort of sitting looking at me, sort of smiling and it got to the point where he started bidding.

“And I don’t think anybody wanted to try to outbid him on the night, so he won the painting in the auction. I was so, so pleased and I couldn’t believe it.”

The artist said the process of painting live is “slightly different” to being in his studio but that he focuses on “making it the best I can”.

“I’m generally a bit of a show off anyway, so it sort of helps that I’ve got a crowd to watch it, and it really puts me under a little bit of pressure to make it even better.”

Stephen said the painting sold for four figures and he’s “just so happy for the charity” and felt “a bit of a spur” to raise money for it.

But why paint the Titanic Museum? For Stephen, it’s partly due to advice from his grandfather to take photos of things so “you can look back” because they “might not be here” forever.

He said ongoing development around the Titanic Museum means the view he painted won’t be the same in the future.

“With the likes of the Titanic [building], there’s development going on and things will happen.”

“It’s hard to take for a lot of Belfast people when they’re going to drive over the M3 and they sort of can’t see it anymore.”

As for the Edge, Stephen said the guitarist was very down to earth.

For a photo after the auction, the artist “went to stand at the other side of the painting and he said no, no, come over beside me, and he got me to put my arm around him and he put his arm around me”.

“It was quite a lovely moment.”