It Follows 8×10″ Print

Title: It Follows
Original Size: 20 x 16 in
Medium: Acrylic and Oil Pastel
Surface: Stretched Canvas

Artist Statement:

It Follows is an abstract, horror-inspired representation of depression — not just as an emotion, but as an entity. In this piece, I imagine what depression might look like if it were something aware of itself, something capable of intention — a force that follows, chooses, and lingers.

In my own experience, depression often arrives without cause, without warning, and without a clear path forward. When there’s no identifiable reason behind the feeling, there’s no obvious solution. That ambiguity becomes a trap — a sense of being haunted by something you can’t name, reason with, or remove. It leads me to wonder: what if depression isn’t just part of the emotional spectrum? What if it’s something else entirely — something sentient, something selective?

This painting visualizes that concept. Created using foam brush techniques, blending, and oil pastel, It Follows is meant to evoke unease, to feel dark and confusing, yet strangely beautiful. Its layered forms and textures aim to capture the duality of depression — how it can coexist quietly within a person while eroding everything beneath the surface.

It’s a question I still wrestle with: why can we be randomly struck by deep sadness, but not by joy in the same way? It Follows doesn’t offer an answer — but it gives form to the question.