Follow Me

Follow Me, 2015

Oil on Canvas

36 × 48 inches

A painting that I did several years ago of a chance encounter that I had one winter evening years prior. It was the middle of nowhere and I remember there being an eerie feeling about the night. As I passed by a window facing the backyard of this house, I happened to notice a large dark shape moving along the tree line at the back of the property. For some reason I wanted to see what it was, so I put a coat on and trudged out into the wintery night. As I crossed the yard, I remember seeing  what looked like the largest black dog that I had ever seen. I remember seeing the glowing eyes, no doubt reflecting the light from the single lamp post that was placed in the backyard for decoration. My first thought was that it was a wolf. The animal paused and then turned and sauntered back into the woods. At one point it stopped and looked back at me and then turned and continued out of sight. It felt otherworldly; visions of old children’s books like The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe played through my mind. I decided to follow it. I walked down what appeared to be a game trail back into the woods a little ways. The animals footprints were clearly visible. I remember reaching a small clearing where the path bent to the left and suddenly the thought ran through my mind that perhaps following what could be a wolf deep into a snowy wood in the middle of winter might not be the smartest thing for me to do. So I turned back. I hesitated, though, something seemed to draw me ever deeper. I shook my head and put it down to my overactive imagination. To this day I wonder what would have happened if I continued down that path.