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 Charli XCX arrives at The BRIT Awards 2025 at The InterContinental London O2 on March 1, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Tate McRae performs at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards in Elmont, New York, U.S., September 7, 2025. (Photo by Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters)

A dog named Rama surfs a wave off Sydney's Palm Beach with its owner, Australian dog trainer and former surfing champion Chris de Aboitiz (not pictured), February 18, 2016. An Australian dog trainer and former surfing champion is using the discipline of surfing as a way of teaching owners to build healthy relationships with man's best friend. (Photo by Jason Reed/Reuters)

Chinese-American actress Bai Ling is seen on October 15, 2018 in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Hollywood To You/Star Max/GC Images)

This NASA photo shows a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover onboard as it launches from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, on July 30, 2020, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Perseverance rover is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. (Photo by Joel Kowsky/NASA)

American singer Tinashe attends the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, U.S., September 12, 2023. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

Revellers participate in the annual gay pride parade in Amsterdam, Netherlands on August 4, 2018. (Photo by Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters)