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 woman dressed up for Halloween travels on a Metro train in São Paulo, Brazil on October 30, 2017. (Photo by Cris Faga/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Pusha the cat, which adopted four bereaved baby squirrels and currently feeds and lives with them, lies at a local park of miniatures in Bakhchisaray, Crimea on April 25, 2019. (Photo by Alexey Pavlishak/Reuters)

Tamta of Cyprus arrives at the 64th Eurovision Song Contest held at Tel Aviv Fairgrounds on May 12, 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Photo by Amir Cohen/Reuters)

Dua Lipa seen at Glastonbury Festival 2019 on June 27, 2019 in Glastonbury, England. (Photo by GC Images/GC Images)

American model Bella Hadid celebrating her 23rd birthday at L’Avenue at Saks Fifth Avenue New York, NY on October 10, 2019. (Photo by David Warren/Sipa USA)

Gymnast Simone Biles performs a flip after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch prior to Game Two of the 2019 World Series between the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals at Minute Maid Park on October 23, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)

Charlize Theron attends the 33rd American Cinematheque Award Presentation Honoring Charlize Theron and The 5th Annual Sid Grauman Award Presented by Hill Valley to Adam Aron on behalf of AMC Theatres at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on November 08, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety/Rex Features/Shutterstock)