Smiling at the sun (rock martins at Abu Simbel)

Acrylic on paper, 16 x 13 inches

There is a timelessness and tranquillity to the carved statues of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel.

It stood for over three thousand years, greeting the morning sun every day, until in 1968 the entire temple was moved to a new site higher up the hill to make way for the Aswan High Dam.

I loved the subtle colours of the stone and the reflected light in the shadows. For the rock martins, dwarfed by the great stone head of Ramesses, this is just another cliff face.