But if you just want to make an image of the copied file's icon and not the file itself, you can do that too. All by pasting the item into macOS's Preview app. If the item you copied in the Finder ...

At this point, the small icon will change to the pasted image, updating the appearance of the file at the same time. If you plan to reuse an icon already in use by another file or folder ...

Adding these shortcuts to your desktop will allow you to click on them to open them in one step, as well as click and drag other files ... the icon at the top-left depicting an image of a desktop ...