Click here to get yours. Only 50 available! SIGNED! These go on sale in half an hour at 12PM CST.

Hi. My name's Rob Schamberger. I'm that guy who paints rasslers. And other stuff. I was once like you and I liked to do the wild thing.

If you’ve been reading the newsletter for a while you know that it’s been a journey getting this Jon Moxley print out. Heck, you can see with my signature that it was painted last year! But here it is, friend.

Anyway! This was a fun one to paint, combining action with a graphic element for the background while still making it look painterly. Who’s the guy in jean shorts he’s stomping? I’ll leave that up to your imagination since you can’t visually observe him!

It’s funny to me, normally I need some space after I finish a painting to be able to see it as it is versus how I wanted it to look while working. I made this almost a year ago so I’m looking at it with fresh eyes and I gotta say: I like the shoelace. That’s a nice touch.

Card subject to change.

Rob’s Art on ShopAEW
###
Rob and Jason Arnett's novella Rudow Can't Fail!
###
Rob’s prints and shirts at Pro Wrestling Tees
###
Rob’s gallery site Schamberger Art
###
Bluesky
Cara
YouTube

On Tuesday I watched Federico Fellini’s first color movie, Juliet of the Spirits and was immediately swept away. Not every director made the transition to color right out of the gate, several took some time and different cinematographers to get to where they were compositionally with black and white.

I’ve heard it said that other directors make movies, but Fellini made art. With Juliet of the Spirits that’s on full display.

Every gosh dang frame of this is perfectly composed, not just with positive and negative space but also with the purposeful color choices. Masterpiece after masterpiece, whether in the wildly surrealistic moments or in the quiet emotional moments everything is purposefully done to convey the mood and to advance the story. And all in contrast to seeing these sights through star Giulietta Masina’s incredible eyes, showing that she’s right in this journey with us.

The cinematographer for this was Gianni di Venanzo, who had worked with Fellini on their prior film 8 ½, which was shot in black and white. While 8 ½ was also masterfully full of surrealism and touched on many of the same themes from the male perspective (I’ll get more into that on Sunday), it’s awe-inspiring to see such a confident step into color. Like, not only were they able to keep the same level of quality, they made something I feel still stands as a high water mark of what can be done visually.

I’m glad I’ve started this path towards being an unrelatable cinephile! While absolutely no one in my day-to-day life will understand anything I’m talking about, I’m also having my mind opened to many new ideas that I can bring back to my work. I feel like a lot of my interests in art and entertainment were essentially the same things I was into as a kid and into my early 20’s. And that’s fine! I still love those things! I mean, look at what I do for a living. But I’m getting so much out of seeking the things that the me of my mid-40’s is into.

My bergamot bush has started blooming this week. Its stalks are only about half full height but it’s already flowering, which is exciting. They smell amazing and every pollinator in the neighborhood comes by to hang out. Welcome, friends!

Over a decade ago when I started this newsletter it was primarily just to promote my work but it quickly evolved into a space for me to communicate about my life in an authentic way with you. Sometimes it’s cats and gardening, or books and movies I’m enjoying, or more challenging topics like managing my mental health or speaking to issues in society that I’m passionate about. Not everything is for everyone and if any part of this isn’t the right fit for someone I completely understand.

But ultimately I feel a need to be truthful about my full self. As an artist, everything influences my work and I feel that to share my art with you means also sharing my full and authentic self. Thanks for being on the journey through this thing we call life with me.

I’ll share some more flower pictures with you soon.

Love you more,
Rob

PS: Trans rights are human rights. Abolish and prosecute ICE.