SHOP TALK: Rob Schamberger Newsletter
Johnny wants to think of a joke.
Hi. My name's Rob Schamberger. I'm that guy who paints rasslers. And other stuff. I'm afraid I can't help it.
WORDS
Study of an Adolph Alexander Weinman Sculpture
Watercolor on 9” x 12” watercolor paper
Felt like having some fun with colors and put this together over a couple days. The sculpture was originally made for the Pennsylvania Train Station in NYC and was moved to Kansas City in the 1960’s after the station was demolished. It’s now a part of the Eagle Scout Memorial Fountain, a truly gorgeous landmark here in town.
This is Nostalya and her companion/ familiar Korman. She’s the lead character for this book I’m developing, tentatively titled NOSTOS/ALGOS. She’s the leader of the Algonauts, an action force taking the long odyssey back home after a long battle and facing peril after peril along the way.
At least that’s what it seems like is happening. There’s a lot more happening beneath the surface than she realizes.
Now I just need to actually write the damn thing.
In developing her look, I’d wrestled between some sort of axe or a ridiculous sword but landed on this retro blaster. I have fun plans for what kind of rays it shoots. And Nostalya’s companion Korman is based on our cat Korma who passed away a couple years ago. Since he was a kitten we joked that he was part dragon and this is to honor him. His nose would change colors depending on his mood (sweet when pink, you’re getting chomped when white) so I gave Korman a mood ring nose that will change colors depending on Nostalya’s mood. I also based him on the cartoon companions of the 70’s and 80’s like Glomer from Punky Brewster or Godzooky from Godzilla.
I’m excited for you to see what Nostalya and Korman’s actual bond is and its deeper meaning. There’s going to be LAYERS to this book. At least I hope so.
But seriously, I need to start writing this damn thing.
(I’ve started writing the damn thing.)
UPCOMING AEW/PWT PAINTINGS
Speedball Mike Bailey
Konosuke Takeshita
Kenny Omega
Skye Blue
Kyle Fletcher
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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Bluesky
Cara
YouTube
WHAT I LIKED THIS WEEK
After Midnight ended this week, with host Taylor Tomlinson putting her focus back on standup touring. I get the decision, there’s no way that talking about current events is fun and indirectly promoting social media platforms feels icky. That said, for the past couple years I enjoyed the routine of watching it in the mornings and starting the day with some laughs.
Katy had some evening events this week and I took advantage of that to go see a couple movies. First up was the new Wes Anderson film The Phoenician Scheme. I think this might have been the first Anderson movie I’ve seen, for no good reason beyond I just haven’t seen any. That said, the hype is real and this is a fabulous movie. Felt like a lovely mix of classic silent film, farcical comedies like Top Secret, and French new wave cinema, all wrapped up in a charming James Clavell-esque story about the collision of vision, greed and reality. I was blown away.
AUDIENCE REVIEW: Seven people there, of which I was one of 6 bald white guys with beards in their mid 40’s to 50’s. One lady there with one of the bald white guys with a beard.
I also took in Karate Kid: Legends and I feel safe in saying that this is a movie where a kid does some karate. It’s tied into the preceding movies as well as the Cobra Kai show (There’s even a subtle reference to The Next Karate Kid if you pay attention), but not beholden to any of that and is instead more about developing these new characters and their world. I wish the antagonists had been fleshed out a little more, but honestly none of these movies really did that. There was a guy sitting next to me in the theater who at first was bugging me because he kept talking but then I realized he was just REALLY into the movie, which was pretty awesome.
AUDIENCE REVIEW: All ages and cultures, the ladies as into it as the guys. About half the theater was full. Karate Kid’s not a huge franchise but it’s very much a generational one now.
Star Trek: Defiant volume 4 by Christopher Cantwell and Angel Unzueta was another solid outing by this creative team and this all-star ragtag crew of characters featuring Worf, Spock, O’Brien, Torres, Ro Laren, Sela and others. The Trek comics are truly good stuff right now and on par with the best of the shows.
The Nice House by the Sea volume 1 by James Tynion IV and Alvaro Martinez Bueno continues the mysteries and drama from the Nice House on the Lake series. The story’s a little dense with a lot of characters but good golly Bueno’s art is top notch. Full of drama with a somber yet splashy style that perfectly fits the mood of the story.
Last Sunday we went to the museum and I picked up a copy of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection. Starting last year in Florence I’ve made a point of picking up whatever sort of guide a museum has for their collection and I realized I’d never gotten one for my hometown institution. Yes, I’m biased but this is maybe my favorite of these books I’ve collected so far as it’s very art-heavy and does a wonderful job of presenting the massive amount of treasures the Nelson contains.
We were there for a new exhibition (more on that next) and I picked up a copy of Survival of the Fittest: Envisioning Wildlife and Wilderness, the book collecting this lush selection of wildlife art. Which lush selection of wildlife art? This one:
‘Tiger by Jungle Stream’ by Wilhelm Kuhnert
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
Like I said on Thursday, I never really considered myself much of a fan of wildlife art. Like, yeah, it seemed like something you’d see in a waiting room or an old man’s den. Just didn’t speak to me in any sort of meaningful way.
Until I saw this exhibition.
‘Lion Couple Stalking Campfire’ by Richard Friese
I think what made this stand out was how stylized and vibrant the art is. It’s often chunky in its brushstrokes with non-representational colors, not the bland over-polished stuff I associate with the subject matter. Like, this MEANT something to these artists, there was some vision there and they were telling visual stories with their paintings.
‘Grand Canyon of the Colorado’ by Thomas Moran
There were some other surprises too, like a first edition of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species and also a couple paintings by Thomas Moran that he showed to Congress in 1871 which led to the formation of Yellowstone National Park. Powerful stuff.
‘Dell Sheep’, part of The Harlow Triptych by Carl Rungius
But yeah, it’s these paintings using colors and bold techniques that I’m more accustomed to seeing from the Impressionists or NC Wyeth but instead being applied to animals and their environments that’s stuck with me.
Important Garden Update: Sunday Edition
YOU GOOD?
It’s okay if you’re not. The headlines keep getting heavier and heavier. An entry-level therapy quote is, “It’s okay to not be okay.” Don’t fight it and allow yourself to pause and recognize what you’re feeling. Those feelings are real and valid.
And if it’s too much, make some purposeful time to think about the things in your life that bring you some no-asterisks joy and allow those to coexist with the heavy stuff. It doesn’t invalidate those heavy feelings, but the heavy things don’t invalidate that it makes me feel good when my cat starts purring, for instance. It’s not there to offset, it’s just there to also exist and also be true.
You’re worth caring about.
Take care. No Kings. Happy Pride.
Love you more,
Rob