KONOSUKE TAKESHITA: Rob Schamberger Newsletter 26JUN25
To the center of the city in the night, waiting for you.
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Hi. My name's Rob Schamberger. I'm that guy who paints rasslers. And other stuff. As the assassins all grouped in four lines, dancing on the floor.
WORDS
Sometimes I’ll get on a roll with inspirations and that’s what happened to a degree with my new Konosuke Takeshita painting. I liked this shot of him looking over his shoulder, it was dramatic especially when cropped in like this. But I wanted to do something a little splashier than a more representational approach and decided to play around with the colors on it. Classic Shadow pulp magazine covers were top of mind for me, after my recent Okada painting and I thought it’d be fun to use some of the bold color schemes they often utilized.
Takeshita looking over his shoulder like that screamed ‘Shadow covers’ to me, too. Felt like a good fit. So I worked up a few watercolor sketches as I was a little unsure about my initial idea of that green stripe slashing through the composition.
Looking at the sketches though, I felt like my initial idea still worked so I went for it and I think it created a pretty haunting portrait. The little dot of red in his eye was a last-minute decision that made the whole thing click.
UPCOMING AEW/PWT PRINTS
Kenny Omega
Skye Blue
Kyle Fletcher
The Young Bucks
Mina Shirakawa
Card subject to change.
Rob’s Art on ShopAEW
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Rob and Jason Arnett's novella Rudow Can't Fail!
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Rob’s prints and shirts at Pro Wrestling Tees
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Bluesky
Cara
YouTube
ART I LIKE
‘Blues’ by Archibald John Motley Jr, 1929
While tackling depictions of American life at the same time as the likes of Edward Hopper and Thomas Hart Benton, Motley didn’t receive the same acclaim as his peers as his work focused on the African American experience. It’s a shame because his work is so full of life and vibrancy and tells more than just the story of black trauma. It’s people having joyous moments.
The composition of this particular piece deftly keeps the focus on the two women, the one holding the cigarette and the other in the red dress. It’s a dense composition but not overly busy, with the other figures framing these ladies having a lively night out. It’s one of those things that non-artists would overlook but we artists know just how difficult this was to pull off. Lovely stuff!
Movin’ on up!
IMPORTANT GARDEN UPDATE
I know you’ve been anxiously waiting to hear how my coleus is doing and the answer is: GREAT!
To recap, I’d wintered a couple coleus to put them back in my window box planter when it got warm. Which I did, but they promptly just about dropped dead with only a stem remaining on one. I gave it some TLC for a couple weeks and it started sprouting some leaves again. Here’s how it looked about a month and a half ago:
It’s bounced back wonderfully and should be properly huge again within a month or so. I promised I’d check back in with you on this very important matter and I appreciate your patience.
Love you more,
Rob