A Night at the Circus - Take a Bow

This is Round Two of the little sketches/experiments I've done with my circus-themed photos. After the feedback I got that the first one was a little difficult to read I tried a different technique. I used the masking fluid more as a safety to keep certain areas pure, rather than as the negative space and only image. The colours were used for mid-tones and modelling, rather than all blending together in an abstract field to highlight the white. The black was used almost exclusively for the shadows, again, instead of simply blending into the colour (at least, not as much as the first painting).

I'm not totally sold on this version. I think in some ways it's an improvement. It's certainly easier to see the figure. One the other hand I just don't think it's as interesting. Of course, it doesn't help that I got called away in the middle and the waterproof ink dried in the middle, making it very stripey because I couldn't blend it afterward. Still, that's hardly the big problem here.