"Rolling waves of sand, golden and tall;
Calling a memory, teased with yearning.
Mighty walls of rock, a fortress of stone
Whispers of the Hajar,

With pools of Silver
Glittering in the baking sun.
Splashes of colour hidden by the vast
Unending grey and gold of the desert.

Yet still I listen to the silent calls,
Of those rugged mountains, and misty falls. "

Full View for the Detail!
might need to download for full size

Introduction
This is my entry in contest
"Give me a story I can see" it had to be about something from our lives, so I chose when i used to live in Dubai like 13 years ago! We had to write a story (I did a poem) and do an illustration for it. And I had no idea for the category. whatsoever.

The Poem
What strikes me about seeing the country now is how different it is to how it was when I lived there with my family. We used to drive our 4X4 into desert and go Wadi Bashing, and into the Hajar Mountains and it was so unbelievable....I wish I could go back!! Thats basically what I was trying to say

The Picture
So about the picture! I drew and coloured the desert nomad in pencils, I wanted her to look rugged yet she has hidden beauty, the splashes of purple is her clothes, like how you would drive for miles in the mountains/desert and see nothing then suddenly come upon an oasis!

All the background images and text I took off google, (and i'd link them but i had about 20 layers of them...) I used a lot of photoshop for it with layer effects and such, it was really fun :3 I don't know what most of the Arabic text says =.= sorry.

Time: 7 hours
Tools: 01 pigment pen, Derwent colouring pencils, photoshop, google