SHOP TALK: Rob Schamberger Newsletter 03NOV24
Keep looking through the window pane.
Hi. My name's Rob Schamberger. I'm that guy who paints rasslers. And other stuff. Seems to me, can’t turn back the hands of time.
WORDS
Above is a watercolor study I did of the statue Atalanta and Meleager by Francesco Mosca, a part of the Nelson-Atkins Museum’s collection. This was another one of those where I was really jazzed through the entire process of making it. I’m always chasing a feeling with my art, trying to make something that gives me the same emotions that I get from seeing the art that inspires me. The composition, the color palette, the execution, it all felt right to me.
And…I think that about does it for my series of paintings studying statues. For now, at least. I said to Katy the other night, “I’m about statue’d out.”
This is another painting of the streets of Florence, Italy. Like I’ve talked about before, I really fell in love with how the sky looks like a jagged bolt of lightning framed by the buildings. I had fun with the color palette on this one, balancing the warms and cools.
After finishing this one up, at first I was thinking about an Italian landscape but jumped into starting some studies for a new bigger project I’m beginning in a couple weeks. This past year or so has been about reigniting my love for making art and finding my new reason for why I’m making it. I’ve done all of these studies as a part of that, broadening my skills and knowledge base to grow as an artist and as a human.
Here’s that first study, a 9” x 12” watercolor. My mindset with these studies is to try out different approaches and compositional elements so that when I start the project in earnest I’m able to more easily jump right in. Doing these will also help me in art directing the reference photoshoot, knowing better what I need and being able to communicate that to the photographer and model. Ideally, at least!
I’m really excited about this new project, inspired by what I’m doing with the Emotion Series. It’ll take half a year or so to do and get me to where I want to be to make the project that comes after, which will be wildly ambitious. I hope. I don’t know. We’ll see. We’ll find out together.
Don’t worry, I’m still doing the rasslin’ paintings, too. Here’s a preview of next week’s Jamie Hayter as evidence!
UPCOMING AEW/PWT PAINTINGS
Jamie Hayter
Hikaru Shida
Konosuke Takashita
Sting
Hangman Adam Page
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
Cara
YouTube
WHAT I LIKED THIS WEEK
Lioness season two has started off really strong. Already seems bigger than the first season, which felt like it spent its entire budget on the first episode. But if you like some no-nonsense action, this show’s for you.
I finally got around to watching Orphan Black season one over the past couple weeks. I have no idea why I stopped watching this show when it originally aired. Not enough hours in the day, streaming wasn’t a thing yet, we lived in a loft with only one TV back then, take your pick! But man, Tatiana Maslany does incredible work here, playing multiple different characters with varying accents, physicality and personalities. It gets really fascinating when she’s playing a character impersonating another one of her characters. Really interested to stay with the series and see where it goes next.
Joe Hill’s new short story Ushers is a haunting modern horror tale. I really don’t want to recap what it’s exactly about as it’s a real journey that shouldn’t be spoiled. But I genuinely appreciate how Hill manages to create a new mythology while also setting it in the horrors of modern American life. Definitely worth your time.
I’m nearly done with reading Superman: The Triangle Era Omnibus volume one, collecting those early 90’s issues of the Superman titles that created a weekly soap opera of Superman and his supporting cast. There’s some fun stories in here like Time After Time, proposing to Lois and soon after revealing his secret identity to her, the ‘death’ of Lex Luthor and the discover of Lex II (I forgot he was Australian!), and more. Plus, they’re made by the likes of Jerry Ordway, Dan Jurgens, Louise Simonson, Roger Stern and Jon Bogdanove, all of whom I’m a fan of.
This sitting out for the past few weeks led to the incredible question from Katy, “What is a Triangle Era and why did Superman have one?” And friend, I was READY to explain this.
If you’re unfamiliar, at one time there were four Superman titles, creating a weekly publishing frequency. Instead of four different storylines, they instead went with an ongoing narrative through them. Because comic shops still weren’t too prevalent back then and comics were mostly bought from spinner racks at places like grocery stores, kids like me maybe didn’t know where we were in the story back then. So they put a triangle on the cover with a number in it, telling us what the story order was. Hence, a Triangle Era. It’s fun stuff and I’m glad they’re putting these out.
Okay, now THIS might be the best episode of Midnight Special yet. BB King! Bobby Blue Bland! John Lee Hooker! And a WHOLE LOT MORE. And Jee-Hezus Big Mama Thorton is out of this world.
Did it.
YOU GOOD?
Obviously the big day is coming up this week, that being Katy and I’s fourteenth wedding anniversary on Wednesday. That’s the biggest thing happening this week, right? That’s what everyone is talking about right now?
Oh, and since there’s absolutely no chatter about this online, if you’re in the US and aren’t voting early (we went yesterday), please do vote on Tuesday. The big national stuff can seem overwhelming but there’s some local issues that really can be swayed by your choices. You matter.
Love you more,
Rob