Hi Donna,
I use a Wacom Intuos with Inkscape, GIMP, Blender, and MyPaint on two Ubuntu desktops. This is for work, where I find that my two Linux desktops are more stable and sustainable than the machines running Adobe software. My linux machines hover around 7 days of uptime, while my Windows machines consistently achieve around about 2 days of uptime.
I don't use Macs for work anymore; as my experience with Linux grew I realized that I just don't enjoy using proprietary hardware or software that much, spiritually-speaking. :-)
I am a full (or more than full? lol) -time web freelancer doing 2D/3D illustration, video editing, and web design, and I teach computer graphics classes with Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator, part-time, at a local college.
I also contribute to several open-source CG software packages on the side, mostly doing testing and promoting the software. This has been a huge boost to my credentials when applying for teaching positions; I've been told that a number of times.
This is my last semester teaching at the college due in part to my tight work schedule, but I've noticed that most of my students are simply not in a position to understand why something that's free could possibly be helpful to them. But then, most of them will not end up using Photoshop for "real" work anyway. Those who are interested in using linux are usually hesitant to ask an Adobe software instructor about it because they fear that I'll disagree with them out of professional experience.
On to the Wacom, the Wacom itself works fine in linux, but on a linux /laptop/ it's a little trickier. Hotplugging support seems a bit hit-and-miss, especially if you plan on sticking with something like the long-term-support (LTS) version of Ubuntu, which is well supported but lags in the latest graphics goodies. This is pretty frustrating for a (or "this") linux graphics person.
You can read some more of my thoughts about CG + linux in the "At Play / Computer Software" section of my website, below.
I'm 30 years old, based in northern California.
Marc