Wacom Intuos3; Adobe Photoshop; Corel Painter

I have always loved the circus. My father was a travelling showman (country singer) with Ashtons Circus in the late 50’s and I love hearing his stories about this time and looking through old photo albums. The clowns have always fascinated me and area recurring icon in my work.This picture was put together in Photoshop and Painter using a Wacom Intuos 3 tablet. I found some great Photoshop brushes on the internet for creating “hair” effects and put them to good use here. Incidentally, I like to tape a sheet of art paper on top of my tablet to give the surface I am working on some “tooth” rather than just running the pen on top of the smooth tablet surface. It just gives me the sense of working on actual paper rather than a screen. What’s it about? The clown has finished her routine late in the evening and along with a friend (the viewer) is reading a letter from her lover “Gonzo” who is also a clown, but in a different circus.