SHOP TALK: Rob Schamberger Newsletter 28JUL24

Your former glories and all the stories.

Jul 28, 2024

Hi. My name's Rob Schamberger. I'm that guy who paints rasslers. And other stuff. You were running out of time.

WORDS

Above is a painting I made of the statue of Laocoon by Baccio Bandinelli at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. This was an incredible piece to see in person and walk around. This particular angle I chose for the painting was incredibly dynamic and made for a fun composition.

Laocoon, in Greek Legend, was a priest for the god Apollo. He upset Apollo by breaking his oath of celibacy and having kids (or, in other stories, he doinked his wife in Apollo’s temple. Greek myths are WILD). So the petulant little twerp that Apollo was sent two sea serpents to kill Laocoon’s twin sons. Another version of the story is that Apollo smote his sons as punishment for telling the Trojans to not accept the wooden horse left by the Greeks.

I’m leaning towards the version about Apollo being big mad about Laocoon porking in his temple.

Here’s a painting of another statue at Uffizi, one of Niobe’s Children who were killed by Apollo and Artemis. The Greek gods were real drags to be around, I guess. This was a powerful room, filled with ancient statues of the entire family in the moment of their tragedy. Ages have passed since these tales were originally told, centuries since these statues were carved from blocks of marble, but the emotions of it all resonate through to today.

Since I got back from Florence I’ve been trying to make a painting that matches how I felt walking through those ancient and beautiful streets. A mix of abstraction and precision, all in service of those gorgeous dagger-like silhouettes that the sky cuts through the buildings lining its narrow streets. I think I finally got it right with this piece. After three studies I think I’ve got my approach worked out.

Here’s the first three studies, for comparison’s sake and so that we can talk about them:

The first one was a sort of straight-forward approach without much thought to it. I liked the addition of the yellow to speak to how the Tuscan sun affects the lighting. It’s not actually like that, but it FEELS like that and is visually compelling. That said, I wanted more structural detail as well as more artistic flourishes.

The second study had a lot more of those artistic flourishes but lost the geometry of the buildings. There’s ideas in this that I like but the execution wasn’t up to my standards.

I felt I found the balance in the third study and knew that when I sized up for an actual painting that I could nail the look and feel I want for these pieces.

Here’s a preview of Thursday’s new Malakai Black painting. Kima’s put a lot of work into it and is plum tuckered out. (I edited Thursday’s Artist of Champions video for this and be prepared for her to be heavily featured.)

UPCOMING AEW/PWT PAINTINGS

Malakai Black
Britt Baker, DMD - SIGNED
Willow Nightingale - SIGNED
Orange Cassidy - SIGNED

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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Cara
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THE EMOTION SERIES PROGRESS

I started work on the penultimate Emotion Series painting on Thursday. As has been the case with all of these, I’m taking an approach that’s way outside of my comfort zone, leaving me unsure how exactly to pull it off. The parts I’ve finished so far are within my wheelhouse, but the rest is going to be tough, using techniques in ways I haven’t done before. You’ll see once it’s done what I’m talking about.

Beyond the mental health benefits I’ve experienced from doing these, as an artist I’ve really enjoyed doing works that are so different from my regular paintings and subject matter. For sure a worthwhile pursuit.

WHAT I LIKED THIS WEEK

I’m halfway through finally watching Poker Face and all of those people who said this is a great show were apparently right. There was a push for a while to cast Natasha Lyonne in a remake of Columbo and I feel like this show answered that call. It’s similar to Columbo’s format of opening with a murder and then watching how the detective solves the case. Except Lyonne’s Charlie isn’t a detective, she’s on the run from powerful people and is armed only with the ability to tell when people are lying and a strong sense of humanity. It’s excellently made and infinitely watchable.

I listened to the audiobook for the short story How It Unfolds by James SA Corey in anticipation of their new novel The Mercy of Gods which comes out in a couple weeks. If you’re unfamiliar, James SA Corey is a pen name used by the two authors who created The Expanse books and show, which I’m a massive fan of. The story is a cool character piece wrapped up in a science-heavy plot where mankind becomes a multi-system civilization through unconventional methods, and where it ultimately leads us as people.

The Major by Moebius is a fascinating meditation on creations and their creators. Originally made as a stream-of-consciousness sketchbook exercise by Jean Giraud aka Moebius, it’s a surrealistic journey in a world where anything could happen and everything equally has no meaning and is full of revelation.

I was sucked right in by Ribbon Queen by Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows. It’s a chilling horror story wrapped around an all-too-realistic crime drama where an NYPD detective has to investigate a rogue tactical unit while being haunted by both her own past and a primal elemental force of female revenge. It’s a hard one to look away from and even harder to look at.

Picking a peck of peppers soon. Okay, just Googled how many a peck is and it’ll probably be shy of 139 but who knows. Last year I definitely had a peck of jalapeños.

YOU GOOD?

A solid art week, I feel like. I made those three watercolors at the top and started the Emotion Series painting all in the course of the past week, so that feels good. I’ll likely have less to share next week as I’ve gotten the green light on some new AEW stuff and that’s what pays the bills. I’m pitching them a lot right now, all of which is pretty exciting. And if you liked that recent Danhausen piece, you’ll probably be happy about something happening in the next couple of weeks. More on that once it’s announced.

But otherwise it was a quality week of gardening, painting and being a childless cat dad who knows the assignment.

Love you more,
Rob