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)

Students with torches protest against the alleged encroachment of Nepal border by India in far west of Nepal, during the 49th day of a lockdown imposed by the government amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Kathmandu, Nepal on May 11, 2020. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

China perform during the mixed team free preliminaries on day seven of the Doha 2024 World Aquatics Championships at Aspire Dome on February 8, 2024 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)

Turkana tribesmen walk with guns to protect their cattle from rival tribes near Baragoy, Kenya August 4, 2017. (Photo by Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

Canada's Charity Williams, left, is tackled by United States' Alex Sedrick, center, and Naya Tapper during a Vancouver Sevens women's rugby match Saturday, February 24, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Photo by Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP Photo)

Turkey's Yamaha rider Toprak Razgatlioglu celebrates winning the world championship during the World Superbike Championship at the Mandalika International Circuit in Kuta Mandalika, in central Lombok on November 21, 2021. (Photo by Bay Ismoyo/AFP Photo)

China's Sun Jiajun competes during the men's 4x100m medley relay swimming heat at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, Tuesday, September 26, 2023. (Photo by Lee Jin-man/AP Photo)

Motocross riders compete on the beach on October 15, 2023 in Weymouth, United Kingdom. The motocross event, which first came to the town in 1984, organised by Weymouth and Portland Lions Club in association with Purbeck Motocross Club, sees over 300 riders compete over a course along Weymouth beach. (Photo by Graham Hunt/BNPS)