“The ideas explored in Painting Venice are inspired by time I spent in California where there is little access to mental health services and therefore many vulnerable but interesting people sleeping rough. I was particularly inspired by Venice Beach, L.A. where it was apparent that most homeless people were creative in some way, their situation desperate despite their obvious talents. They would do all they could in their power to entertain tourists on the boardwalk or create something that they could sell, right down to a sign I saw offering “crappy life advice for a dollar”. These people struck me as similar to the tragi-comic characters often explored in clowning; here were entertaining and sometimes funny people with comical cardboard signs displaying their good humor, which did lift the mood of others, entertained passersby and made people laugh. The reality of course being that they live desperate lives, isolated from the services and opportunities afforded much of society. Yet despite this, I observed many searching for any possible route to survival amongst such a fast paced, image conscious, consumer driven society. Watching them made me want to know more about who they were and how they ended up there. Despite their good humour, I was left with an overall feeling of sadness for the lives that modernity leaves behind.“