In early 2025, Chicago artist Elijah Leflore reached out to me asking if I would be willing to handle the photography, graphic design, and creative direction for his upcoming single & project titled Lonely Lover. With Elijah being an R&B artist, I was excited to take this project because it would open the door for me to work with a new artist in a new space of music.

Elijah and I had talked quite a bit about the direction we wanted to take this, and ultimately we came together with a great idea to rent a studio and use a messy paint setup as the backdrop for the world Elijah was trying to build. We wanted to find a way to visually represent those emotional layers in a raw and striking way. That’s where the idea of using messy paint came in.

The primary colors - red, blue, and yellow - became symbolic: red for love and passion, blue for sadness or sorrow, and yellow for fleeting moments of hope or joy. The way the paint was applied on the area surrounding him - unrefined, chaotic, imperfect - reflected the emotional turbulence that comes with loving and losing. By shooting in a studio and keeping the environment minimal, we let the paint and Elijah’s presence tell the story. It felt abstract but intentional, like the emotions behind the music itself.

Ultimately, we came up with some beautiful shots and achieved everything we were hoping to visually. When the project ultimately came out, one of our photos even got featured as the lead cover of the “Indie R&B” Playlist for Pandora!