Bunch of Clowns

Ha ha...I've always been fascinated by clowns, in much the same way as I'm fascinated by sharks. They are mysterious, compelling and sinister but I wouldn't want to come home and find one in my bath.

Clowns are a deep rooted part of our psyche. Silent slapstick movies are descended from the tradition of Clowning around and you just have to admit, that someone getting a custard pie in the face is actually funny, as is seeing someone slip and fall over, or their pants falling down. You just need a drum roll first.The main reason clowns are creepy though, is due to distortion of reality... Bulbous red noses, exaggerated slack jawed smiles, long foreheads, fucked up hair and huge feet... It's like meeting someone from Wigan.

Of course many clowns play upon this sinister appearance and masked identity and are deliberately characterised as evil... such as Pennywise (IT, Stephen King) and even The Joker (Batman, Bob Kane and Bill Finger). The most notorious of real life clowns was John Wayne Gacy. Gacy was a children's entertainer in his spare time in the guise of Pogo the Clown. When the cops came to take apart his house and garden in Chicago, they found twenty nine buried male corpses. All had been raped then murdered. He later claimed he was arrested for 'Keeping a cemetary without a license.'  He was found guilty of 33 counts of murder and executed in 1994. While on death row, Gacy painted clowns himself. These paintings usually sell at around $2,000. That's about $2,000 more than mine and look how shit he was!


Anyway, looking back over my paintings I discovered that I have a worrying back catalogue of clowns and they need to be made public. I would like 9 other cartooned clowns to be taken into consideration.

 

Portrait of John Wayne Gacy (by me). Acrylic on canvas.

Gacy's self portrait

A cover idea / motivation for some writing I'm considering.

Acrylic and ink and software.

This painting depicts Larry Harmon as Bozo (detail). Acrylic on aluminium.

 

McFries with that, arsehole?

Acrylic on canvas.

The Premonition. Acrylic on aluminium.

 

Alone At Last

Acrylic on canvas.

The Last Laugh

Acrylic on canvas.

A Nightmare - Acrylic and pencils and software

Don't have nightmares....

All images copyright Rob Kirbyson except Gacy's self portrait.