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)

In this Wednesday, September 17, 2014 photo, the sun shines over a field of sunflowers in Walkill, N.Y. (Photo by John DeSanto/AP Photo/Times Herlad-Record)

Hundreds of gannets dive for mackerel off the coast of Shetland, Northern Isles of Scotland on July 2020, where they plunge into the water from heights of up to 100ft at speeds of 60mph. (Photo by David Keep/The Times)

A swan sits on her eggs on nest made of rubbish found in the Danube river in Belgrade, Serbia on Monday, May 10, 2022. (Photo by Darko Vojinovic/AP Photo)

A visitor takes a selfie with “The Breach” by Leandro Erlich, during a photo call for Kew Gardens' forthcoming “Food Forever” exhibition, examining the fragile future of food and the impact of our day-to-day eating habits on the planet, at the Royal Botanic Gardens, in Kew, Richmond, Surrey on Thursday, June 16, 2022. (Photo by Dominic Lipinski/PA Images via Getty Images)

Neon Naked Life Drawing in London, United Kingdom on August 23, 2022. Combining UV light and reactive body paints, Neon Naked brings an alternative, vibrant and psychedelic exploration to life drawing classes. (Photo by Guy Corbishley/Alamy Live News)

A devotee offers prayers to Sun God while standing inside an artificial pond near the banks of river Yamuna on the occasion of the Hindu festival of “Chhath Puja” in New Delhi on October 30, 2022. (Photo by Sajjad Hussain/AFP Photo)

A monkey carrying a puppy are seen around the park in Dhaka, Bangladesh on November 11, 2022. A monkey was spotted carrying a puppy around the park. The monkey also carried the puppy on its lap and was seen jumping from a tree's branches. Even though monkeys and dogs do not necessarily bond, a different animal friendly relationship was seen in Dhaka. (Photo by Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)