OVERWHELMED: Rob Schamberger Newsletter 24MAR24
Pressure pushin' down on me.
Hi. My name's Rob Schamberger. I'm that guy who paints rasslers. And other stuff. Sat on the fence but it don’t work.
EMOTION SERIES
“Overwhelmed”
Acrylic on 20” x 30” illustration board
(Heavily inspired by the classic Jim Steranko cover to The Incredible Hulk Annual #1)
I’m making the Emotion Series paintings to show how I experience emotions as a person with PTSD and Reactive Attachment Disorder with the hope that it will bring awareness, acceptance and further research to these conditions. I’m purposefully not explaining what each one is about and instead allowing the viewer to find their meanings.
Here’s the others I’ve made so far:
“Alone”
Acrylic on 30” x 20” illustration board
“Excited”
Acrylic on 20” x 30” illustration board
“Embarrassed”
Acrylic on 30” x 20” illustration board
“Loving”
Acrylic on 20” x 30” illustration board
“Anger”
Acrylic on 20” x 30” illustration board
“Confident”
Acrylic on 20” x 30” illustration board
“Dislike”
Acrylic on 20” x 30” illustration board
I’m really proud of this body of work. It’s so far out of my comfort zone, both artistically and personally and I thank you for allowing me to share them with you.
ICYMI, here's the latest Canvas 2 Canvas episode.
UPCOMING WWE PAINTINGS
Bayley
The Rock
Jade Cargill
Card subject to change.
Hundreds of prints and paintings at Schamberger Labs!
Rob and Jason Arnett's novella Rudow Can't Fail!
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Prints and Signed Prints at WWE Shop
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Threads
YouTube
MARCH SCHAMBERGER LABS DISCOUNT CODE
Through the end of March, use the promo code MARCH24 at checkout for 20% off all prints at schambergerlabs.com! This is an exclusive for subscribers, so kayfabe this one. It’s just for you because you’re amazing.
WHAT I LIKED LAST WEEK
I listened to the audiobook for Ed Zwick’s memoir Hits, Flops and Other Illusions and really appreciated his true insights into Hollywood and entertainment overall. If you’re like me and Zwick’s name doesn’t ring a bell, I bet his works as a writer and director will: Thirtysomething, My So-Called Life, Glory, Shakespeare in Love, Courage Under Fire, Love and Other Drugs, The Last Samurai and A LOT more. He gives some juicy stories about the making of these classics, but through the lens of being a creative person who’s simply trying to, you know, create.
I finished reading the massive Milestone Compendium volume three last Sunday. I didn’t read any of the Milestone books when they originally came out so I’m coming into all of this with fresh eyes. It’s a mixed bag for sure, with a lot of the more experienced creators having moved on and newer writers and artists coming in. Some, like JH Williams III and Humberto Ramos went on to massive careers while others peaked right around here, which is fascinating to see. That said, they remain overall fun and I read this a lot quicker than the page count led me to think I would.
Decorum by Jonathan Hickman and Mike Huddleston is a gorgeous thing. A metaphysical space opera, sort of like what if Jim Starlin adapted Dune, I admit I bought this to pore over Huddleston’s work. I’ve admired his art from back in his self-publishing days while he was a student at the Kansas City Art Institute (with an amazing who’s who of classmates including Jim Mahfood, Nathan Fox, Hector Casanova and muralist Scribe) and then his collaborations with Phil Hester. It’s one of the boldest-looking comics I’ve seen in a long time and friend, I read A LOT of comics.
I finally watched the Blackberry movie and boy, I did not expect to identify with this so much. Starring Glenn Howerton and Jay Baruchel, it tells the story of (Surprise!) the people behind the Blackberry phone, it’s rise to dominance and its sudden and utter downfall. Some day, maybe, I’ll tell the story of why this hit me so hard at this point in my life.
Last night Katy and I went to see Late Night With the Devil and loved it. It’s a found footage/ documentary style horror flick about a struggling late night host in the late 70’s who does a Halloween episode with a psychic, a skeptic, and an exorcism and guess what things go wrong. It’s funny, smart and has some genuine scares. We went to an 8:30 showing and the house was nearly sold out, so hopefully its limited run gets extended a la Godzilla Minus One. Definitely worth seeing in a theater.
The only AI I fully support.
YOU GOOD?
Last Sunday Katy and I went to the National Toy and Miniature Museum here in Kansas City and friend, this was INCREDIBLE. I’d somehow never gone before, probably one of those things like how no New Yorker goes to the Statue of Liberty. But golly, I’m glad we made a point to do this. The first floor is dedicated to incredible miniature scale models that you just kind of have to experience. They’re made so perfectly, they just look like the actual thing when photographed. But to look at them in person, it becomes amazing when you stop and think about how difficult these would be to make.
The second floor is dedicated to toys from throughout American history, including one doll that predates the Declaration of Independence! I’m a big fan of tin toys and I was overjoyed to see so many robots and vehicles. There were also a lot of the toys my grandparents had from when my mom was little that I got to play with too, like Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys and the game Cootie. And of course, the 80’s and 90’s were well-represented with lots of He-Man, GI Joe, Transformers, Star Wars and all of the other pieces of plastic that expanded my imagination and helped me escape when I needed to as a kid.
That said, it was a whole other experience seeing a grandfather explain Kenner Star Wars toys to his granddaughter, especially when said grandpa was MY AGE.
And yes, I definitely bought a tin robot from the gift shop on the way out!
Love you more,
Rob
That painting collection you shared here is striking and thought provoking! Excellent work on a very difficult, personal theme!