a picture that inspired me to write

IWSG monthly post

Was there ever a picture that inspired me to write? 

Yes. Many, actually. As a child I loved to both read and paint (and I still do). Some pictures seemed to feed my imagination and inspire me to take my pen and paper and start writing. 

There was one Finnish children's book illustrator whose work I loved more than anyone else's.

His name was Rudolf Koivu. His parents died of tuberculosis when he was a child, and his uncle raised him. He studied art and intended to become an artist, but facing life's realities he became an illustrator. His work is much loved, and I had a yearly calendar of his work on the wall of my room. My favourite picture of his is the Snow Queen.

I see influences of Art Nouveau (his favourite style) and perhaps Russian folk stories.

Looking at this picture (and his other work) I sat by my desk, writing away for hours on end. Everything in this picture inspired me - the cropping, the soft wavy lines - the beautiful crown of the queen, the swan heads on her sleigh. And the night time winter forest - I love winter, forest and starry skies. 

Also the limited palette makes this picture elegant. The reason for it was the printing technology of the first half of the 20th century - colour printing was expensive, and so many of his works were done with only a few colours.

Just looking at this picture still makes me want to start writing fairy stories.

The Snow Queen by Rudolf Koivu. Public domain picture from Wikipedia.