Elizabeth Chapin is an Austin based painter and sculptor whose work asks a simple but not-so-simple question: What does it cost to be alone, and what does it take to refuse? Her series Banishment of Solitude is a collection of life-size stuffed and sewn canvas figures painted by hand, surrounded by bits and pieces of inspiration. I've spent a lot of time on set. None of those spaces have been this visually dense, this emotionally alive.

We worked across three sessions, winter through late summer, moving between her Austin studio and the extraordinary Victorian house next door where she lives. Her studio floor is a record of years. Gold leaf lives in a tupperware container. Paint-covered Dickies overalls hang on a backyard clothesline, one embroidered with "Nasty Woman." The house itself is its own maximalist universe: brightly patterned vintage furniture, yellow clawfoot tub, chinoiserie wallpaper, a rope swing in the backyard oak. Elizabeth moves through all of it like someone who has stopped noticing how extraordinary it is, which is exactly what made it so fun to photograph.

Most of my work starts with a ceative brief, a mood board, a clear vision of what the final image needs to do for the brand. I love that work. But this was something different. Looser. Freer. No brief, no scripted moments, no deliverables. Just two people in a space, both paying close attention, immersed in the beauty and the moment. Elizabeth is genuinely warm, dynamic, and deeply focused,. Her work is an extension of herself. She welcomed my creative voice merging with hers, and that combination just kept giving. Beautiful portraits, quiet process shots, and strange and quirky images that leave you sitting with a feeling you can't quite name. Entirely the point and such a joy to be a part of!