Positively Fantasy Faces

I have taken a few days to refresh and to recover from staying up too late making faces over the past few weeks.  Although I did make 29 faces, I would like to end the challenge with some positively fantasical faces.  My fantasy art began by me photographing and exploring  an area by the river that most people simply walk by and not notice because it looks like any other forest.  But once inside, a fantasy world is entered.  My imagination started to grow once I discovered a giant pile of tree debris that was swept ashore seven years ago in a flood that rose several metres up the trees. 

Dragon Face

Dragon/Elephant Face

One tree had a mystical face that resembled a dragon.  Another seemed to be part dragon, part elephant. 

I found some really amazing fungus growing on a beaver attacked fallen tree next to the tree pile.  The scales of the dragon in my art were inspired by the patterns on the top of the fungus. 

Dragon Patterns and Scales

The background in the art is based on the underside of the fungus. 

Background Patterns

 The scales were also inspired by some really interesting paths carved into the trunk by insects. 

More Dragon Scales

One of my students found a really soft squishy piece of wood that had a porcupine quill poking into it.  This is the spear in my art. 

Old Tree Warrior's Eye

The Old Tree Warrior Gazed Across the River

The old tree warrior is the tree on the right side of the photograph and seemed to be holding all of the debris together.  The background is the South Saskatchewan River and Lion's Park forest across from where we were sitting.  A student named Mathieu was the model for the boy clinging to the dragon's back.  It was positively fun creating fantasy faces out of what I spotted in the forgotten forest!

 The Fantastical Faces and Photographs are soul property of Renee Dowling.

To use her images, please contact her at

dowling@shockware.com