KRIS STATLANDER: Rob Schamberger Newsletter 12JUN25
Trying to read the world today and see where you're at.
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Hi. My name's Rob Schamberger. I'm that guy who paints rasslers. And other stuff. And even though you're far away, can you see my red light? It's waiting to turn green.
WORDS
With this new Kris Statlander painting I wanted to do a combination of technique and design to make a striking image. I dropped the colors from the gear to instead have white as a framing device, but then let the color pour out around the top to still let it feel organic and painterly. Probably one of my favorite wrestling paintings of late.
UPCOMING AEW/PWT PRINTS
Speedball Mike Bailey
Konosuke Takeshita
Kenny Omega
Kyle Fletcher
Skye Blue
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
‘Elk in Banff National Park’ by Carl Rungius
On Sunday I went to see the new wildlife art exhibit at the Nelson-Atkins Museum, ‘Survival of the Fittest’ (More on that in next Sunday’s newsletter). I admit to not being a huge fan of wildlife art, equating it in my head with the stuff hanging in a doctor’s waiting room or a grandpa’s garage. Like, stuff that’s pleasant but that I’m unlikely to study.
How silly of me, right?
A classically-trained painter, Rungius loosened up quite a bit and worked with much bolder colors as he put himself in the field more than the studio. It was also around this time (somewhere in the 1910’s) that paint started being readily available in tubes, allowing artists to easily transport their materials to other locations.
This allowed for more involved studies to be made en plein air that could then inform studio work, if not wholly-made paintings made outdoors. I find that to be so fascinating on a historical level, you know? Little advances in science that can completely change things. Unlike AI, which might generate images but does not make art, those little paint tubes were marvels of modern engineering which freed artists to go out and better incorporate the world into their work.
Beyond all of that, this is a fabulously-painted piece with a whole story being told of two bucks squaring off and the herd around them watching. The color choices and how they serve the story being told and the overall composition is truly fine work. The Impressionistic brushstrokes bring a vibrant energy that evokes what it’s like to be in a space like this and FEEL it, not just look at it.
So yeah, I guess I like wildlife art now.
HONEY LOOK! FLOWERS!
IMPORTANT GARDEN UPDATE
Probably what I enjoy the most about the various plants I’ve got around the house is how often I’m surprised by them. There’s something new or unexpected almost every day. The latest are these flowers that sprung open like tiny suns.
The news might give some new fresh hell every day but at least within the tiny borders of my yard there’s also unexpected joys happening. Both can be true and allowing those tiny joys in makes the days a little more manageable.
Plus, I mean…flowers!
Love you more,
Rob