The Hay Thieves - Mona, Monika, Delilah and Nanna  -  Oil on canvas  (sold)
Available as a limited edition Giclee Print

I think this painting really captures their personalities. The scene takes place in our shed.. The sheep have just been shorn. The two sheep (Monika and Nana) who are looking to the right are actually watching our sheep shearer Chris Anfang who is just finishing with Margret. Delilah is standing on the fence, swiping hay while Mona ,waiting her turn, looks on. You can see the plywood that has been placed unsuccessfully in front of the hay as a deterrent.

All of our sheep wear handmade Swiss sheep bells. We live in the woodsand there are no other farms or open fields around us. Icelandic sheep are excellent browsers and love to eat brush. Our fear was that the sheep would get out and be lost in the woods, eating their way further and further from home. The bells would help us to at least hear and locate them. The bells have the added benefit of being quite charming ringing softly as the sheep graze on the hillside or at dusk when the sheep come in from the field for the night.