SHOP TALK: Rob Schamberger Newsletter 09FEB25
It's not unusual to have fun with anyone.
Hi. My name's Rob Schamberger. I'm that guy who paints rasslers. And other stuff. No matter what you say, you'll find it happens all the time.
WORDS
NEEDS: PLEASURE/ JOY
Watercolor on 12” x 16” watercolor paper
Pleasure: A feeling of happy satisfaction and enjoyment.
Joy: A feeling of great pleasure and happiness.
This was one of two from the self-actualization needs that I was really excited to make. The idea had come to me when I was first developing this series of paintings, having the subject look through some sheer decorative fabric and playing around with the forms and intricacies of it. A really challenging piece, for sure. (The other one will be Self-Connection. You’ll see why once I get to it.)
(You can see the uncensored painting on my Bluesky, btw.)
NEEDS: AUTONOMY
Watercolor on 12” x 16” watercolor paper
Autonomy: The ability to make your own decisions without being controlled by anyone else.
My recent infatuation with Caravaggio’s work is on full display with this one. I’m sure I’ll have a few more in this vein when I get to the safety needs and the model I’ll work with for those!
Here’s a preview of Thursday’s new Kenny Omega painting. This is going to be a cool one, I think you’ll see.
MYSTERY MAN
Still noodling away at redrawing a comic I made when I was 13 featuring the character I came up with, Mystery Man. Above is an ink and liquid acrylic piece that I overall enjoy although the colors are too vibrant. Still debating if I’ll do the comic in color or not. Working with black ink is my original love, but obviously I’ve developed an affinity for color.
Here’s a warmup sketch I did with a parallel pen, to force myself to loosen up and get a more organic feeling. I love the unpredictable nature of the parallel pen and am starting to lean towards maybe using it for the whole comic. Still undecided but it sure sounds fun. I also like that it uses a water-soluble ink that reactivates really easily, giving the option for some fun washes as midtones.
Still undecided. Giving myself options.
UPCOMING AEW/PWT PAINTINGS
Kenny Omega - SIGNED!
Cope
The Hurt Syndicate
FTR
Thunder Rosa
Card subject to change.
Use the promo code ROBFEB25 at checkout on ShopAEW and Pro Wrestling Tees (where you can find this Vader print) to get 25% off any of my existing prints older than one month! Several of these are close to selling out so this is a great time to swoop in and get yours.
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
WHAT I LIKED THIS WEEK
I was pleasantly impressed by the new cop show On Call. It’s an easy watch but also has some depth to it and kind of feels like Training Day: The Series (which is a compliment). At the same time that the characters are grappling with being cops in a new era of tactics and responsibility, the show itself seems to grapple with being copaganda or a study of characters in these situations. Overall I think it succeeds by focusing on how the job and the events affect the human beings it follows, rather than just being about cases and action.
Invincible season three has started off strongly, full of ultraviolence and its ongoing effects. I like how it’s staying pretty close to the comics while also fleshing out the characters in ways that the space restrictions of the source material didn’t allow. Back when the comic first started, like only one or two issues were out, I had a pal that was friends with Robert Kirkman. He said that there was a massive twist coming that was going to make it huge. “So, his dad’s pretty much Superman, right? Well, it’s going to be revealed that his dad’s actually here to conquer the Earth and the only one who can stop him is Invincible.” At the time, I was like, sure, that’s cool but I don’t think it’ll be THAT big of a thing. Boy, was I wrong!
Friday night Katy and I finished up season three of Ted Lasso. It’s nice to watch a show that’s all about kindness and supporting one another, and how that can uplift a group of people. I realized about halfway through the season, that although the show is called ‘Ted Lasso’ that his character isn’t actually the lead, but instead he’s the personification of kindness and support and the show instead is about the people he interacts with and the journey they go on towards trying to be better.
Last night I watched the first couple episodes of Common Side Effects and was honestly blown away. It’s a thriller about a guy who discovers a type of mushroom that cures all illness and injury, which sets the US government and healthcare company-hired hitmen after him. Could there be a more timely premise? One of its co-creators was also behind the impressive Scavengers Reign series which I fell in love with, plus it’s co-produced by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels. It has high stakes situations but also quiet moments of genuine heart and some well-earned laughs. Definitely worth checking out.
FIGURE DRAWING SESSION
Last Sunday I went to a drawing group where we had two models, Doug and Joanna. For fun I brought my new palette of granulated watercolors to see how they perform in this environment. I’m really pleased with the results, gotta say.
I added a bit of Payne’s Gray and Lamp Black for the deeper shadows. It’s hard to get these pigments fully loaded, so combining in some darker colors helps the overall feel. For sure it’s something I’ll experiment with more.
One of her nicknames is ‘Boots’. Obviously.
IMPORTANT KIMA UPDATE
Have we talked about Kima’s tail yet? I’ve never seen a cat like her, honestly. When we first brought her home (almost 6 years ago!) we saw her running around the house with her tail fully poofed out. We thought something had spooked her, but soon we noticed her tail poofs when she’s having fun. Wild, right? Her eyes get huge, her ears go back, the tail gets huge and she just starts zooming all over, climbing everything, jumping around and generally displaying some Big Kima Energy (or as we call it, BKE).
When she comes up to my studio area, she’ll jump up on the table, lower her head and her tail will, I swear, start vibrating. She wants those scritches and her body is straight-up vibrating from the expectation of it. She’s our Wonder Girl.
Love you more,
Rob