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)

Teachers carry children away from Briarwood Elementary school after the tornado destroyed the school in south Oklahoma City. (Photo by Paul Hellstern/The Oklahoman)

Karis, a one month old lion cub being weighed at Blair Drummond Safari Park near Stirling, Scotland, Thursday October 10, 2013. Weighing in at 5kg, the cub will stay with her mother, Teekay until she is 12 weeks old before they are returned to the pride. (Photo by Andrew Milligan/AP Photo/PA Wire)

Mara Salvatrucha (MS) gang members show off their weapons in the Las Victorias district of San Salvador. In March 2012, the two largest gangs in El Salvador - the Mara Salvatrucha (MS) and the Barrio 18 (M18) - agreed on a truce following secret negotiations between gang leaders in prison which were mediated by a bishop and a former rebel leader. It is unclear whether the decision was the idea of the gangs themselves or whether they were encouraged by the government. (Photo by Adam Hinton)

The torrential rain has failed to dampen the spirits of this hyena as he bursts into a hysterical laugh in Kenya, on Oktober 24, 2013. (Photo by Mark Bridger/Solent News & Photo Agency)

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Karis, an 8 week old lion cub, growls at a pumpkin as she explores a Halloween treat put in her enclosure by staff at Blair Drummond Safari Park near Stirling, Scotland, Tuesday, October 29, 2013. (Photo by Andrew Milligan/AP Photo/PA Wire)

Rhiannan Iffland of Australia competes in the women's 20m platform final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (Photo by Vincent Thian/AP Photo)

An aerial view of people visiting the roaring Hukou Waterfall on the Yellow River on August 11, 2025 in Yan'an, Shaanxi Province of China. Hukou waterfall is witnessing an increasing water flow lately. (Photo by Liu Yijiang/VCG via Getty Images)