Who says you have to use oil or water color? California artist David S. Palmer, 58, has a eclectic fascination with configuring bullet casings to depict icons who've been murdered by assassination, such as former U.S. President John F. Kennedy and musician John Lennon. 

I love the intersection of art and controversy.

There will surely be some people who see these creations as offensive and recoil at the choice of medium, preferring to restrict bullets to a tool of death.

I think it's thought-provoking that Palmer has chosen to repurpose bullets and make them a tool of beauty and immortality. Figures who died by bullets, now live on -- memorialized by thousands of them. The concept itself is as moving and beautiful as Palmer's portraits -- which, by the way, take roughly 8,000 bullets to complete.

Since Palmer is a Beetles aficionado, he first honed his talents in the medium by crafting a bulleted image of Lennon shortly after his death. Rap music legend Tupac Shakur has also gotten the Palmer bullet treatment. 

A portrait of assassinated U.S. President Abe Lincoln is also a part of Palmer's repertoire. According to the Metro newspaper in the United Kingdom, Palmer has amassed a following in the U.K. where he is finding buyers for his work -- often at a cost of more than $64,000 a piece.

Palmer's technique is rather complex, involving mounting the bullets to a wooden support base and then using a blow torch and metallic paint to apply the finish.   

What's on Palmer's "To Do List?"  Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi.