SHOP TALK: Rob Schamberger Newsletter 22DEC24
Put a burger on the plate, and it'll hit the spot.
Hi. My name's Rob Schamberger. I'm that guy who paints rasslers. And other stuff. Well, I’mma stuff my face to a funky beat.
WORDS
NEEDS: FOOD
Watercolor on 12” x 16” watercolor paper
The latest for my Human Needs Series of paintings, exploring the various things that we require to survive and thrive as people.
Here’s the original sketch for it and Relaxation:
My favorite part of the process for this collection has been the collaboration with my photographer Paul Andrews and our models (this one with Zelda Calderon). I have these rough ideas of what I want the paintings to be, and they each apply their own input and instincts to take it all to another level. For instance, with this one I was leaning towards something akin to Caravaggio’s ‘Boy With a Basket of Fruit’ but my initial leaning was to do it without any actual food.
‘Boy With a Basket of Fruit’ by Caravaggio
It wasn’t working at all. I thought that I wanted these paintings to simply be the figure and the fabric but yeah, it was a no-go right out of the gate. Paul picked up on that immediately and said, “Hey, I’ve got some apples and oranges in a bowl. How about that?” And then Zelda, a professional commercial model amped the presentation up by perfectly framing the bowl while still being present in it herself. Gave me so much to work with when I came in to do my thing.
NEEDS: RELAXATION
Watercolor on 12” x 16” watercolor paper
This one is a good example of what I’m learning from making these paintings. I’ve already made one for ‘Rest’ and I put thought into how rest and relaxation could be different. From my perspective, rest is a physical need while relaxation reads more as an emotional one. The definitions of the words play that out, as well. Rest is the need to cease work or activity, while relaxation is “the state of being free from tension and anxiety.” Fascinating.
I have one more painting to do featuring Zelda but I’m going to ultimately have five models I’m working with for the series overall, focusing on different categories of needs. For instance, the ones with Zelda were for the physiological needs. On Tuesday Paul and I worked with my frequent model Joanna, who I’ve done a lot of live sketches of but this will be my first dedicated studio-made body of work featuring her. Her section will be for the self-actualization needs. I had high hopes for this shoot and yet again she went far beyond my expectations.
This week I’ll also start work on my final Emotion Series painting. I’ve got it laid out and now it’s time to get going on it. It’s an ambitious one (as they all have been) but I’m not afraid of that anymore.
So, this is really cool: My good friend Jake Black wrote a couple short stories for the new Star Trek collection “A Year to the Day That I Saw Myself Die” and named an Andorian after me! Little kid Rob thinks that old man Rob’s life is pretty neat. Thanks Jake!
UPCOMING AEW/PWT PAINTINGS
Adam Cole
Jay White
The Outrunners
Ricochet
Private Party
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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Instagram
Threads
Bluesky
Cara
YouTube
WHAT I LIKED THIS YEAR IN SHOWS
A solid year for shows, I gotta say. I started 2024 off with a complete viewing of Twin Peaks for the first time, from the original two seasons to Fire Walk With Me and The Return. My current theory, in case you’re wondering, is that there’s no Laura Palmer at all and instead it’s all a dissociated delusion by Audrey. Laura is a standin for Audrey and what actually happened to her, as shown in Fire Walk With Me. Now you know.
After Midnight is probably the show I enjoyed the most over the course of the year. I watch it every morning on Paramount+ as a way to start the day with some laughs. When they get the right combination for a panel, it’s pure magic. Speaking of magic, Interior Chinatown is maybe the best sleight of hand experience I’ve had with a show.
Katy and I really enjoyed the twists and turns of Expats. Same for True Detective: Night Country. We got fully engrossed by Shogun and I’ve since dove into James Clavell’s related novels. We dug the latest season of The Bear (maybe the only two people that did, but hey, art is subjective), and I’d say the two shows we enjoyed together the most in 2024 were Hacks and Somebody Somewhere for their balance of comedy and humanity.
Finally, it’s going to take me some time to figure out how to exist without Star Trek: Lower Decks and What We Do in the Shadows. I feel like both shows completely understood how to balance their high concepts against natural humor in a way that few others can.
WHAT I MADE THIS YEAR: PERSONAL WORK
I’d say that 2024 has ended up being the most creatively fulfilling year of my life. The end of my time with WWE, probably the last year or so, had really sucked my joy for making art out of my soul. Too much to go into, too little that I -want- to get into, but it had become a situation that was no longer the right fit for me personally, professionally or creatively on any level.
I had scheduled the Italy trip at the end of 2023 and it was simply happenstance that it ended up happening a month after I made my big career change. Couldn’t have been better timing and felt like a way to completely reinvent myself, even though instead I just found who I am rather than who others wanted me to be.
All of this art here was made after the trip as I less worked to figure out what kind of art I wanted to make and instead made the art that interested me that day. Simply being in the moment and allowing the joy of putting brush to paint to be enough.
I talk about this frequently, that I’m constantly chasing the feeling I get from seeing others’ art with my own work. It’s a constantly-moving goalpost that in one hand has enabled me to continue to grow as an artist but in the other hand continually sucks the joy out of anything I do. Not so much this year. There’s several pieces I’ve made that give me that feeling. I just counted and…eighteen of them. Historically I’m lucky to get one a year.
TL;DR: Therapy works.
Where they kept the ring before the journey to Mordor.
YOU GOOD?
Katy’s family lives in Columbia and Jefferson City, MO so we got this adorable rental while we were there this week visiting for the holidays. It was originally a log cabin built in the 1800’s that was added onto in the 1930’s and lovingly maintained since. It’s positively charming inside, everything feeling handmade and so very human and served as a perfect base of operations for our time there.
Love you more,
Rob