Between a Rock and a Hard Place | LMAC FreeStyle Collage No. 129

I wanted to share with you my current freestyle collage that entails the theme of a man who must grapple with the question of how does one mend a broken heart after a devastating loss?
My design is a freestyle. However, if you'd like to join in the regular contest for the current round, just visit: Let's Make a Collage - A Contest for All Creatives on Hive - Round 235 - ✨35 HIVE in the Prize Pool!.

Often he waits at the edge of the shore, hoping she will appear. Her memory is fresh as though it were yesterday. Their secluded refuge from life's pressures. Both families urging them to move forward. What's the use in wasting each other's time. Life is too short, they persist.
But a lifetime commitment shouldn't be taken likely, Benjamin explains. Olivia was certain.
Now he curses; more to himself for his hesitation. His inability to commit and not share the reasons for his fear. He forces back tears, but he can't stop the mist from crowding his vision.
His thoughts turn elsewhere. Even his trusted and faithful canine companion couldn't erase the memory of Olivia. Her decision was finite. In the end, waiting wasn't an option she was willing to weight.
But the pain of her leaving lives on, reminding him of their time traveling and intimate outings on the shore. Their love once burned bright and blossomed with the colors of summer.
Only memories remain. Nothing is guaranteed in life, his best friend warnred. Sometimes, you have to leave the past behind and take a chance on your future.
But indecision and hesitation have consequences. Not long after, his trusted canine met with a fateful accident. I thought time was on my side. Now what? I have no one, he laments. Rebuilding and finding the strength to move forward is unthinkable at present.
Now only burning aches for the losses rest where his heart resides.

In preparing my theme, I included the following images. It awed me to locate an image of two boulders with space to insert a photo. The scene was perfect for inserting the female's face for the man to gaze upon.
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Item | Contributor | Source |
---|---|---|
LMAC Round 235 Contest Image | Contributed to the #LIL by @muelli | Link |
Palm tree | Contributed to the #LIL by @detlev | Link |
White Dog | Contributed to the #LIL by @anibal-aa | Link |
Rocks in nature | Pixabay | Link |
Woman | Pixabay | Link |
Broken Heart | Pixabay | Link |
Crow | Pixabay | Link |
Skyline | Pixabay | Link |

I then utilized Canva to blend the images. Below are my steps in which I began with a blank, white canvas, then added layers of elements, removing backgrounds, resizing, detaching elements from their backgrounds, duplicating, colorizing, and repositioning items as needed incorporating the tools at my disposal in my Annual Pro Membership Subscription.
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Below is my completed freestyle collage design.

Thanks for your visit. I appreciate it. I hope you like my freestyle collage theme.
CONTEST RULES
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
What is Let's Make a Collage? | It is a monthly photography and collage contest where monthly entries can be submitted. |
---|---|
Who created the contest? | @shaka is the contest owner. |
What type of contest is it? | This Contest utilizes a single photo provided by the contest owner as the basis for you to create your own photo collages by adding to the photo provided. |
What are the rules? | 1. Use as your starting point for your collage the photography provided by the contest owner. It is located on the contest owner's post for free use without any copyright protection. |
2. Entries are required to be posted to the LMAC community and must contain a link to the contest post. | |
3. Entries need to set the LMAC account (@lmac) as 20% beneficiary to be eligible for the dynamic component of the prize pool.; | |
4. Extra support with the LMAC trail to all collages where LIL assets have been included AND the respective LIL-contributors set as 2% beneficiaries; | |
5. By submitting your contribution you agree that your artwork remains public domain and that it can be copied, modified and distributed, even for commercial purposes, without requiring further permission. | |
6. Any graphical element that is added to the photography either needs to be your own original work (e.g. own artwork or photography) OR needs to derive from sites whitelisted by LMAC. | |
7. IMPORTANT: Indicate the source of all materials used in your accompanying post. Otherwise your entry can NOT be put up for the final vote. | |
8. All sort of editing, modification and/or manipulation is allowed as long as no copyright is affected. | |
What do you win? | Prizes listed on the contest owner's post. |


SOURCES:
a) JustClickindiva's Footer created in Canva utilizing its free background and images used with permission from discord admins.
b) Unless otherwise noted, all photos taken by me with my (i) Samsung Galaxy 10" Tablet, (ii) Samsung Phone, & (iii) FUJI FinePix S3380 - 14 Mega Pixels Digital Camera
c) Purple Butterfly part of purchased set of Spiritual Clip Art for my Personal Use
d) All Community logos, banners, page dividers used with permission of Discord Channel admins.
e) Ladies of Hive banner used with permission of and in accordance with the admin's guidelines
f) Thumbnail Image created by me in Canva.
g) "Flames." What is Apophysis 2.09. https://flam3.com/
If translation included, I use DeepL to assist my readers.
Thanks for your patience an understanding.
!BEER
View or trade
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It looks painful, and it is ... "He who hesitates is lost," worked out in heartbreaking detail.
A man's life is not easy. He has to know about everything and handle everything, which leads to a lot of difficulties. You have made this an interesting thing. I also liked it a lot.
You are correct @djbravo, but so is a female's also. One has to make a decision one way or the other about their future. If not, they become stagnant and may miss opportunities. I'm pleased my flash fiction story interested you. Thanks for your visit.
Take care and have a nice rest of your week.
!LADY
Congratulations @justclickindiva! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain And have been rewarded with New badge(s)
Your next payout target is 31000 HP.
The unit is Hive Power equivalent because post and comment rewards can be split into HP and HBD
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STOP
A decent amount for the work. Thanks so much for the new badge. I appreciate it.
Awesome job @justclickindiva! Keep pushing yourself and you'll reach your Hive goals before you know it.
What a difficult situation you describe, and how many of us have been through that moment, myself included. Although the path tells us to keep going, we often encounter obstacles that make it difficult, and making decisions is essential. Something blocks our path, making us feel bad and indecisive. Your collage reflects that situation, which seems so chaotic in life. Excellent!
Although glad you connected with the theme of my collage @avdesing, I'm sad to hear of it as the situation I described was indeed a difficult one that reflects too often the trials of romantic relationships. Decisions involving life itself is sometimes difficult enough to navigate without the added pressures of whether to involve others in your life. The thing you mention that blocks our paths from moving forward can derive from many sources. Stressors I call them, whether internal or external can overwhelm where the path isn't clear.
I appreciate your visit, kind compliment for my design, and appreciate you divulging you own experience with the situation. May you have a blessed rest of your week and weekend. Take care.
!LADY
@topcomment
!LADY
These stressful situations are often complicated and cause a lot of sadness, but with time, they can be overcome. Your design is very graphic and intuitive, thank you for that!🤗
Yes, I believe the majority of situations can be resolved amicably so that the person can move forward. Thanks so much for your lovely compliment. I sincerely appreciate your engagement and support. Take care.
!LADY
Have a great end to your day, good night!🤗
Your reply is upvoted by @topcomment; a manual curation service that rewards meaningful and engaging comments.
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Thank you so much @topcomment and @friendlymoose!!!🤗
This art has so much style to it, the theme and what you created is funny, creative but funny. Between two giant rocks, a face. I love the art here.
I'm pleased you liked how my design turned out. Yes, the face between the rock is unusual as the man is lamenting over his lost love. Thanks so much for your visit.
Take care.
!LADY
It's pure art and very impressive you're most welcome
@justclickindiva, I paid out 0.326 HIVE and 0.064 HBD to reward 6 comments in this discussion thread.