Shamble Grove Painting

At first glance this picturesque painting looks idyllic and full of innocence and it s partially right to think that way. That is the impression it gives with the lush grass and symbolic sheep, leading to that thought. There’s more depth to it and I would like you to read into the painting a bit more before you carry on reading this narrative. This place doesn’t actually exist as in fact as far as I know, but is ever present and could sometimes be on the mind. It was composed entirely right down to the title. It is very ambiguous and also very poignant. You could say it does exactly what the painting is about to the viewer. The trees, uneven ground and sheep all play their part in this ancestral fable. It could lure one into the spiritual or religiosity, but that is not necessarily right. Olive trees are a favourite of mine and here, apart from looking intriguing, they look ancient with all those contours and entwinement, showing time and age on them. However, do they give shelter to the unassuming and innocent sheep, despite ominously engulfing a huge part of the picture? There is something uneasy about the image giving a somewhat eerie feeling in contrast to the serene sheep, which either graze or lay on the uneven ground. Appropriately, this is why it is titled ‘Shamble Grove’. Here shamble is also ambiguous in its meaning. It may be clear to today’s meaning, but it also has a sinister meaning in old English. The painting paints a picture familiar ever since olden times and is real till this day. The innocent, righteous, peaceful, the virtuous will always be surrounded by a lurking danger or evil, just like a sacrificial lamb.