This is the messenger Gabriel announcing to Mary that she will become the mother of Jesus. A popular topic throughout western art over the last thousand years or more, so I thought I might give it a go, so to speak. I've been reading about Angels lately and it's extremely fascinating (I recommend it.) For example did you know cherubim and seraphim are beings of clarity, brightness, tireless ardour and cleansing fire, who with that fire enlighten others and furthermore are reported to have six wings? (Two for covering their feet, two for sheltering their head and two to fly with). I also read that seraphim are caretakers who constantly fly around God's throne singing to each other in exclamation 'holy!' 'holy!" 'holy!' (please take a moment to visualise or even enact this charming vision, I guarantee you will laugh). It's pretty nice. 

My version of Gabriel is taken from the Annunciazione by Leonardo Da Vinci, with a few obvious differences such as the size of the wings, the angle of his torso and his face. I was reading that they weren't sure for some time if it really was Leonardo's painting, as it is less human, less 'perfect' than his later work. deciding in the end that it was his youthfulness that mades Mary a little less 'warm' in the face than his later Marian renditions, also he painted it over a very long period of time so it doesn't have the impetus and vivacity that comes from a continuous burst of creativity. Regardless it is a beautiful painting, though I couldn't see his wings being large enough to get much lift, hence my adjustment.

Warm up sketch of the hand of The Virgin Mary from the Annunciation by Leonardo

It appears we are not the only ones on intelligence gathering missions round here! Even I KING (lady) Pixie (Stick) Dragon was interrupted in mid munch and forced into inanimacy by the GIGANTISM of the freaky pink legless proportionately short broad stick hewman the size of ten ivy branches intertwined! It's FACE was up against the greasy wall and it's EYES are the size of our mid-nymphs' entire body length! I was happily munching and swaying with veritable pleasure when I saw it's great head lowering and rising again whilst holding what appeared to be someone quite like our great mother (rigid with terror of course) and leaving a trail of ivy juice on a small wall held horizontal in its enormous front foot. Truly it is a bizarre and monstrous thing, though I get the distinct feeling it is trying to communicate with us or it likes us at least. As the leader I am bound to speak on our behalf once I work out what kind of leaves it likes and can bribe it accordingly, ideally to leave our territory be, or at least to regularly replenish our area whilst handling us very VERY gently if it REALLY MUST keep putting its fantastically large and heated feet into our branches. Whenever it does we all meet on the sky net and survey the changes to our land - that way I can decide who gets to eat the new leaves and which of my number must remain on the dried and crispy remnant of last month's stock. 

The human heard us - and restocked our ever shrinking enclosure. Stick 73 subsequently went on an intelligence gathering mission before being collected off the east wall by the ginormous pink one - and has reported the above layout and most frequent postural arrangement of the human when at home which isn't much lately. It appears to have a tragic deficiency of limbs and the feet?! We couldn't get a visual on quite how those work. Also a curiously curved back and folded up limb tendency. Not good. We like the wall paper though, wouldn't go amiss in our enclosure.

That was tasty. However we now have nowhere left to sleep, walk or hang out, let alone go for breakfast lunch or supper. We must signal the human. OK gals lets line up along the front in rows. It's bound to notice us.

The >i< in stick has become iii we are many -stiiicks- now. The last >i< passed the top level stick accomplishment as best stick for 3 consecutive days after which she died. And we ©ame out of our eggs and are still growing, filling our world/˙|\ sometimes the branches are bare and great weather changes come, one by one we are ::shaked:: or some are fortunate to be lifted into a spaceship where we are all together at once, then the weather improves as we move back into our world all fresh and new once more. Its crowded though- we crowd on some leaves in piles of sticks which i hear is quite safe as more sticks means ∆confusing∆. Last time the world was so improved, though that nice scent had gone that spicy sharp IV lovely smell but the leaves were so much softer and so deliciously sweet. We are all so full and contented that every night we meet on the ceiling to catch some air or hang out till we shed our skins, if its that kind of night. We are more than the number of legs I have which is what the last mother said her number were. I think we might be more than the number of all our legs, no hang on that can't be right. †ø^¬˚^∆˙