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)

In this March 18, 2015 photo, a boy rides a mechanical bull for children at the Texcoco Fair on the outskirts of Mexico City. In Mexico, these types of fairs date back to Spanish colonial times, and in some smaller communities they are organized around the feast days of Roman Catholic saints. (Photo by Eduardo Verdugo/AP Photo)

Secondary school graduates play in a fountain as they celebrate the last day of school, traditionally called the “last bell” in central Kiev, Ukraine on May 31, 2019. (Photo by Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

British glamour model and actress Sabrina (born Norma Ann Sykes, 1936-2016), during a press conference at Park Lane House in London on June 24, 1955. (Photo by ANL/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

“Be prepared” is the motto of petite Doris Sherrell, vocalist and dancer with “Blackouts of 1942”. In the event of a bombing, the young lady had her social security number tattooed on one leg by artist Jack Julian, and address placed on the other limb for means of identification in Los Angeles, September 29, 1942. (Photo by AP Photo)