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)

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)

Guests dance the Met Gala Party for Jean Paul Gaultier x Shayne Oliver Group held at Sapphire in Manhattan on May 7, 2024. (Photo by Jeenah Moon for The Washington Post)

A picture made available on 13 May 2016 shows A Tiwa girl performing her traditional dance as they celebrated the Wanchuwa festival in Karbi Anglong District of Assam state, India, 11 May 2016. Wanchuwa is one of the most important festivals of the Tiwa tribal community living in the hills as it is related with agriculture which is the mainstay of their economy. Tiwas pray for a bountiful harvest during this festival and to protect their crops from pest and other natural calamities. Tiwa is a major tribe of Assam state who practice Jhum or shifting cultivation for their living in the hills. (Photo by EPA/Stringer)

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)

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)

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)