Art On The Dark Side: Self Portraits

After spending a glorious morning at the Mitchel Park botanical gardens, I'm feeling refreshed and possessed to spend some time in the studio! I enjoy wandering around inside the big glass domes looking at the succulent root systems and watching the koi lazily swim about in their nickel glittered pond. It felt good just to stand in the humidity and feel saturated and surrounded by green. And the dirt--I love the smell of dirt. Ahhh.... so excellent. It gave me the boost I needed to start getting ideas from the brain translated into paint. My mom and I have begun designing our altar sets and the wheels are in motion! You'll start seeing those goodies pop up in the etsy soon enough! I'll be posting sneak peaks along the way. :)

On a different note: the Excellently Wicked June prodded the recesses of our seedy psyche's with her prompt: clowns. How fiendish is that?! I have conflicting feelings on the subject. Clowns are hideous and just plain spooky--something about fake hair and the smell of latex that just gives me the skeevies--but on the other hand, I think that's why I like them! This is my submission for Art on the Dark Side's creepy collection:
This is a self portrait titled, "Melpomene". It is one of part of a series I completed for an introduction to photography course this last year. Melpomene is the Greek muse of tragedy and is most often portrayed wearing a theater mask. I decided to run with the theme and expand it a bit by using other props and costume elements that say "dismal". It's difficult to see the details in this particular photograph, but I'm wearing a harlequin outfit holding a tattered parasol, crowned with raven feathers. I also chose to include a pair of worn Greek sandals, as those are associated with thespians and tragedy. (Here's a picture of the initial sitting before any manipulation or antiquing.)
I've always been drawn to images of harlequin clowns or mimes--something about the silence and melancholy disposition of these characters speaks to me. I'm also a sucker for make up: drawn on tears and pallid complexions, shamelessly and expertly wearing what you are on the outside.

What is your stance on clowns?
Are they awesome or do they need to be eradicated from the face of the planet?