Random Filler Thursday: Pirate Ships

Since I don’t have a guest post or review scheduled for today, I thought I’d share something I’ve always appreciated with you.

I love DeviantART and spend a good portion of my day scrolling through the archives. Often I find pictures that inspire stories, portraits that become characters and wallpapers that become the perfect settings. Once, long ago, I stumbled upon this image by the fantastic artist Tuxedo Moon. Please go and view the original image in full quality here.

This image immediately resonated with me. The composition is great, the details on the girl are fantastic as are the details of the setting. Any stripe-wearing kid in combat boots beside a decrepit wall is going to catch my attention – I’m a sucker for anything hinting at dystopia – but this image got me for a completely different reason.

See that little paper boat in the puddle? Notice the terrific shadow it casts? There you have it, proof that a picture speaks a thousand words. I fell in love with this image the minute I saw it and have returned to it several times since then, whenever I need to remind myself to be that little girl, able to see pirate ship shadows instead of paper boat realities.

That is the magic of imagination, the gift to children that is too often snuffed by this thing called ‘growing up.’ As a writer, imagination is of paramount importance, so I hope never to stop being that kid crouched next to her puddle and pirate ship.

What do you think of this drawing? Any images resonate like this with you?