This painting is similar to a design I've been drawing for years. I have been a doodler all my life and ever since I can remember, I've loved drawing faces. I also love abstracting the faces a little with shadow or using one single line to draw the entire face. Anyway, this painting started out being just an extension of one of those drawings. As usual when I paint, I didn't have anything in particular in mind when I started. I struggled with a name for the painting for a long time before I remembered a word that I'd learned not so long ago that meant something like shadow.
I looked the word up and the dictionary definition of Penumbra is as follows:

"The partial or imperfect shadow outside the complete shadow of an opaque body where the light from the source of illumination is only partly cut off."

I thought that sounded like something that describes this painting and so Penumbra was born.
While performing in the recent production of "ANNIE" which was put on by Children's Musical Theaterworks and Center Stage Productions in Fresno, CA, my Director, Joel Abels saw this painting hanging in my dressing room (we used it to depict a poster of "Phantom of the Opera")and fell in love with it. By the end of the show, I decided to present it to Joel as a token of my affection and appreciation for casting me in the play. I've never acted on stage before and the entire experience was wonderful. I'm happy to think of my art hanging in the home of such a creative, talented individual.