Los Angeles native Mike Stilkey has always been attracted to painting and drawing not only on vintage paper, record covers and book pages, but on the books themselves. Using a mix of ink, colored pencil, paint and lacquer, Stilkey depicts a melancholic and at times a whimsical cast of characters inhabiting ambiguous spaces and narratives of fantasy and fairy tales. A lingering sense of loss and longing hints at emotional depth and draws the viewer into their introspective thrall with a mixture of capricious poetry, wit, and mystery. (Photo by Mike Stilkey)

A participant takes part in a high heel race to protest in favor of gender equality in Monterrey, Mexico on May 12, 2019. (Photo by Daniel Becerril/Reuters)

British singer-songwriter Rita Ora early May 2024 makes an eye-catching face as she promotes “The Masked Singer”, where she’s a judge. (Photo by Rita Ora/Instagram)

A model presents a creation by designer Andreas Kronthaler as part of his Fall-Winter 2023/2024 Women's ready-to-wear collection show for late designer Vivienne Westwood's namesake label during Paris Fashion Week in Paris, France on March 4, 2023. (Photo by Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters)

Father Christmas hands out presents to children at the Aid And Adoption Society home at Leytonstone. (Photo by Gerry Cranham/Fox Photos/Getty Images). 7th December 1938

A window cleaner passes a lighter to his colleague while rappelling from a new building in Tianjin March 23, 2007. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

In this Thursday, May 8, 2014 photo, guests look down from the Tilt!, a new tourist attraction that provides guests a unique view of the downtown area from the 94th floor of the John Hancock Building, after it was unveiled in Chicago. People hold onto handrails as the glass and steel facade tilts forward 30 degrees. (Photo by Ashlee Rezin/AP Photo/Sun-Times Media)

A woman carrying an inflatable doll crosses Withy Grove in Manchester, UK on September 11, 2016. Revellers out in Manchester City Centre. (Photo by Joel Goodman/London News Pictures)