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)

A paramilitary police officer (right) turns around as hostesses line up for roll call ahead of the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition in Beijing, China, on Monday, April 25, 2016. Tesla Motors Inc. and BYD Co. are among manufacturers showing 147 new-energy vehicles at this year's show. (Photo by Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

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)

English singer Victoria Louise “Pixie” Lott attends the launch of the new Pixie Lott Paint collection at The Cuckoo Club on June 27, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by PA Wire)

Visitors watch dinosaur models at Haitang Bay Rice Paddy Park on January 24, 2018 in Sanya, Hainan Province of China. The Haitang Bay Rice Paddy Park featuring 323 full-size dinosaur models was officially opened to the public on Thursday. (Photo by Yin Haiming/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

An OV-10 Bronco aircraft, decorated with World War One commemoration motifs, flies over Flanders international airport, ahead of the world's first Short Take Off & Landing competition on sand, in Wevelgem, Belgium May 8, 2018. (Photo by Francois Lenoir/Reuters)