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)

Gymnast Valeria Kurochkina from Yekaterinburg performs during the Circus of Our Childhood festival at the Yekaterinburg Circus in Yekaterinburg, Russia on December 7, 2019. The festival marks the centenary of establishing state circuses in Russia. (Photo by Donat Sorokin/TASS)

Protesters march against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., June 1, 2020. (Photo by Mike Segar/Reuters)

The Turkish merchant ship Efe Murat is driven aground in strong winds in Bari, Italy on February 25, 2019. (Photo by De Giglio/Fotogramma/Ropi/ROPI via ZUMA Press/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Portuguese model Sara Sampaio attends the screening of “Elvis” during the 75th annual Cannes film festival at Palais des Festivals on May 25, 2022 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

Women take shelter at a pedestrian overpass during heavy rains caused by Cyclone Tauktae in Mumbai, India, May 17, 2021. (Photo by Niharika Kulkarni/Reuters)

Afghan military and officials leave Kandahar city during fighting between the Taliban and Afghan security personnel, in Kandahar, southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, August 12, 2021. (Photo by Sidiqullah Khan/AP Photo)

A Palestinian man rides his horse on the beach at sunset in the northern Gaza City, 18 Novemebr 2021. (Photo by Mohammed Saber/EPA/EFE)