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)

Muslim women light candles during the “EarthHour” in Jakarta, Indonesia, on March 23, 2013. Hundreds of people observed the global event that encourages people to turn off their lights for 60 minutes. (Photo by Dita Alangkara/Associated Press)

This bat gives a cheeky smile as he gobbles down his food at Singapore Zoo, on September 10, 2013. (Photo by Benny Iskander/HotSpot Media)

A partial solar eclipse is seen as a labourer works at a construction site in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, March 9, 2016. (Photo by Samrang Pring/Reuters)

In this July 12, 2007 file photo, a two-day-old piping plover runs along a beach in the Quonochontaug Conservation Area in Westerly, R.I. (Photo by Steven Senne/AP Photo)

Ahead of May Day, AFP' s video and photo teams spoke to men and women around the globe whose jobs are becoming increasingly rare, particularly as technology transforms societies. Here: Mohammad Ashgar, 65, an Indian rickshaw puller, poses for a photograph next to his rickshaw in Kolkata on April 21, 2018. (Photo by Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP Photo)

A mannequin wearing a face mask and nurse's uniform stands next to a sign supporting the NHS, stands in a field during the Covid-19 pandemic on October 06, 2020 in Northwich, United Kingdom. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Lancaster Gate station displays signage after being rebranded “Ratchet and Clankaster Gate” as the PS5 goes on sale in the UK, on November 19, 2020 in London, England. The first generational upgrade to Sony's line of Playstation consoles since 2013, the launch has seen pre-orders sell out within hours and websites crash as retailers attempt to keep up with demand. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)