Hi. My name's Rob Schamberger. I'm that guy who paints rasslers. And other stuff. Lord it's a mighty hard livin' but a damn good feelin' to run these roads.
WHAT’S NEW?
A couple weeks ago while sorting through some of my archives I found this signed Dean Ambrose print! This was, I believe, the first signed print I did of him. It’s on 8.5” x 11” glossy stock, unlike how I do my prints now.
I’m giving this away at random to anyone who leaves a comment letting me know what your primary hobby is. I’ve realized I don’t really have one anymore so I want to hear what you’re up to.
Comments are open to all paid tier members!
ICYMI, here's last week's Canvas 2 Canvas episode. Turned out pretty swell in my opinion.
UPCOMING VIDEOS
2/12 - Asuka
2/26 - Judgment Day
3/12 - Bray Wyatt
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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Signed prints at WWE Auction.
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Instagram
YouTube
WRESTLING LANDSCAPE PROGRESS
More progress on the Bret vs Shawn WM12 acrylic painting! I added the lighting rig at the top which proved to be way harder than I thought they’d be, mostly due to all of the paint mixing. Getting that blue tint to everything wasn’t the easiest process but I’ll be glad I put the time in by the end of this.
Next Week: The crowd starts filling in!
WWE2K23 ICON EDITION
Based on the numbers I’ve heard, you don’t need to be told that this exists but I’m in the mood to brag so I’m going to. It’s…doing VERY well.
WHAT I LIKED THESE PAST FEW WEEKS
I’ve got a lot to catch up on with you!
Hardcore History: Twilight of the Aesir is the latest episode from my favorite podcast. Dan Carlin does deep dives on various important times from humanity’s past and this was a great look back at the ‘Viking Age’ of Europe.
I first heard White House Road by Tyler Childers a couple weeks ago thanks to the Spotify algorithm and I can’t get it out of my head since. Same with You Look Good in Neon by Mike and the Moonpies.
I read Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton on the flight to Hawaii and was utterly blown away. A deeply personal memoir graphic novel, it tells Beaton’s time working for Canadian oil companies to pay off her education and what it was like being one of the only women in these camps.
I listened to the audiobook for Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough and got pretty shaken throughout. It’s a look at generational trauma and the worries some have about becoming their parents and passing that pain along to their own children, told through a maybe-supernatural lens. Joe Hill recommended this in his newsletter as one of the best things he read last year and I very much agree.
While in Hawaii I read the first Avengers Omnibus by Kurt Busiek, George Perez and Carlos Pacheco. A perfect superhero series, this collects the first half of Busiek and Perez’ run as well as the tour de force that is Avengers Forever by Busiek and Pacheco. I’d read ‘Forever as it originally came out but the primary Avengers book was one I missed due to budgetary reasons. I LOVED both revisiting what I’d read before and taking in this seminal run for the first time.
The morning before the Royal Rumble I read Public Domain volume 1 by Chip Zdarsky and I feel like it’s Chip’s best work so far. It’s a story about a ‘fictional’ family whose patriarch was a co-creator(?) of a very famous superhero comic and their struggle to get their share of the money that property is now generating. Hits close to home as I know a lot of the creators who don’t see much of anything after their work gets ‘adapted’ into billion dollar properties. It’s a fascinating space to set a drama in.
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe is the most-banned book in America apparently, so I made a point to buy a copy and read it. It’s a memoir graphic novel about the journey to discover your identity. A beautiful story in and of itself, it’s also a very helpful way in towards understanding gender identity and those who struggle against what they were assigned at birth.
I finished up reading Aliens: The Original Years Omnibus volume 3 the other day. It collects my favorite era of the Aliens comics, from the mid-90’s to the early 00’s with stories by folks like John Wagner, Eduardo Risso, Phil Hester and my very favorite David Lloyd’s Glass Corridor. The Lloyd story is in my opinion the third-best anything related to the Aliens franchise after the first two movies. I hadn’t read most of this collection, just bits here and there and it for sure exceeded all expectations.
She works so hard.
YOU GOOD?
I don’t know if you’d call it an addictive personality or an obsessive one, but I’ve got it. It’s why I don’t gamble, don’t do drugs and don’t drink any alcohol outside of a beer with dinner. I had to learn the hard way with most of those things. Heck, I can’t even play video games because I -have- to master it before doing anything else.
Work has filled that space but the last year especially I see that I need to step back a bit, as I have been. So I find myself in search of a year-round hobby. For a while I built Lego sets but I quickly ran out of room. I love gardening and yard work but that’s only for the warm months here in Kansas City. Obviously I read a lot, but that’s pretty deeply tied to my work and isn’t always an escape.
So.
Katy and I are thinking about forming a bowling league with some friends. We’re lousy at anything athletic but it sounds pretty fun. The only thing we’re on the fence with it is that we travel A LOT and may not be able to make our games.
That’s why I’m asking about what YOUR hobby is. Maybe I’ll have an “Ah-Ha!” moment and find that thing I can get into.
Love you more,
Rob
EXCLUSIVE PAID SUBSCRIBER CONTENT
Paid subscribers this week will get an exclusive 25% off discount code for prints, upcoming signed print releases at WWE Auction, access to the exclusive chat and the ability to enter to win the signed Dean Ambrose print. WE ARE GO FOR PAYWALL.
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