The Enchanted Resort | LMAC Collage FreeStyle No. 50

I'm celebrating a milestone. With this design, I will have created my 50th Freestyle Collage. I love designing mixed media art into various projects. Some projects evoke a short story if time is available. For my 50th freestyle collage, my theme is "the enchanting resort".

To help me celebrate, I'm utilizing a previous LMAC contest image:

^{LMAC Round 96 Original Contest Image}

There sat in a faraway majestic island over a century ago a lush landscape under blue skies with fluffy, white clouds hovering above. They drift in the soothing breeze, providing a temperate climate. In the morning, the rising sun casts a peach glow across the sky. That same sun, with its warm light in the afternoon bathed the bodies lined along the beach. Of course, in the twilight, speckled dust danced across the waters casting a moon's shadow.

Clear and calm river waters ebbed and flowed. They weaved through the inland tip down to the flowing south. A mountainous backdrop created picturesque moments to capture as sightseers and vacationers flocked to the island's serene shoreline and pleasant climate.

A thriving vacation resort getaway. Tucked just behind the mountain range, this well-kept secret afforded those enriched enough with extravagant amenities.

As the clear, inviting river pushed against its shore, invitations flowed to all.

Come delve into the mysteries underneath you deep divers. Come extract our bounty native fishermen to nourish your families. An ideal location, they could venture far outward to the other end of the outlet as it curved, meeting deeper waters.

All obliged.

Especially Tolbert and his new bride, Dinah. They accepted the invitation from friends to join them and others who had established this island paradise an an annual retreat, escaping into a magical time.

That weekend, they waited anxiously at the edge of the shore. Tolbert glanced at his watch several times. Dinah tugged at his arm, impatient at the boat's delay. Either they spend the evening waiting for the river tour, or return to the lounge for fun and table games.

Just as she threw up her hands, the tour boat rounded the bend. She sighed and flashed a wide smile at her husband. They boarded with their several friends, then floated down the river. Admiring the amazing array of exotic species that inhabited the forest, they relaxed.

Three hours later, the river tour boat returned.

A group of native fishermen had discovered the empty boat. They guided it back to the resort's shoreline.

This was not the first incident.

Over the years, several vacationers failed to depart from the island and return home. Unexplained occurrences. Mysterious disappearances. All were reported to local authorities. Unsure whether the aurora borealis, combined with delicious cocktails in the late evening contributed to the sightings, many stories were dismissed. Several incidents were never investigated.

Rumors the visitors docked elsewhere beyond the resort and explored other parts of the island sounded plausible. But their belongings remained at the shoreline resort. They were rich. They weren't worried about their belongings. They were adventurers.

Incidents became legend and forklore.

But the local people knew. The vacationers met their demise at the hands of an elusive sea creature.

Whispers stirred of a mysterious protector whose fierce courage defended the evil that pervaded the river. Clad in garments from another era, this swordsman rose from the depths of the waters. Native islanders hid as they witnessed the elusive warrior battle the giant sea creature haunting their shores.

Regular vacationers no longer visited this enchanted and secluded shoreline resort.

Word of mouth help spread the under-publicized danger. Tourists declined invitations, even with at reduced rates for longer stays.

The island experienced a total collapse in its economy. Unable to attract new, unsuspecting travelers, the resort fell into disrepair.

A beautiful sanctuary no more.

In preparing my theme, I wanted to portray an idyllic island where vacationers are relaxed and feel completely at ease. The surroundings are peaceful with a lovely beach shore.

At the same time, an elusive, formidable, larger than life sea creature unbeknown to the tourists, lurks beneath . The mystery would be that this creature roamed the secluded island vacation resort. To capture this image, I utilized a free sourced picture of a giant shark.

^Source

Below are the additional images I included to complete my theme.

A beautiful landscape photo by @sachingeorge was perfect to accompany the LMAC land and water image. For the warrior who battled the sea monster, I located another image at the LIL by @alex2alex. Members' contributions greatly enhance my collage themes. I'm grateful for their generosity to the Community.

^{Contributed to the #LIL by @sachingeorge}

I added in two pure fractals I created in Apophysis 7X, an advanced fractal rendering program.

• Fish with girl in forest at PxFuel

• Pure Fractal titled "Star Veil" created by me in Apophysis

• Under water ocean sea in blue at PxFuel

• Blue Warrior Public art from "Reisfeld Park" park in Kiryat Ono Contributed to the #LIL by @alex2alex

• Worms Contributed to the #LIL by @eve66

• Alien Hand Contributed to the #LIL by @eve66

• Blue Moon Contributed to the #LIL by @mynatasha

• Pure Fractal titled "Diamond In the Cloud" created by me in Apophysis

• Pure Fractal titled "Wind Flowing" created by me in Apophysis

• Pure Fractal titled "Blue Cross of Orange" created by me in Apophysis