Hi. My name's Rob Schamberger. I'm that guy who paints rasslers. And other stuff. You can stand under my umbrella.

The New York Life Building II, Kansas City

Watercolor on 12” x 16” watercolor paper

After I did my first painting of this building I wanted to do another focused just on the eagle statue that’s a prominent part of it. Pretty quick into working on it I decided I’m going to make a proper go of it and I feel it turned out as one of the best things I’ve made. I’m very happy with the perception of depth that it creates and that big warm shadow on the left worked well.

This one feels like the real deal to me.

Rihanna

Watercolor on 9” x 12” watercolor paper

I made this as a surprise gift for the bartender at the place we play trivia at. She’s a sweetheart and I wanted to do something nice for her of her favorite singer.

Naturally gotta share this:

Here’s a preview of Thursday’s new Beast Mortos painting. If you can’t tell, this was hella fun to paint. I’m excited for you to see the finished piece!

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
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Katy’s book Oldest Kansas City

I’ll give you the rundown of my favorite graphic novels in a couple weeks but right now let’s look at the books-without-pictures category! (Even though I took all of these in as audiobooks while working.)

I listened to 29(!) of the Michael Connelly Bosch-verse books this year and The Late Show is far and away the best of them all. Renee Ballard is a fantastic character and this felt like a big shift for Connelly himself in his world view and how it informs his work.

Jordan Harper’s The Last King of California is a truly modern crime story that doesn’t glamorize it’s rougher bits but instead keeps the story compelling by staying true to the emotional realities of the characters.

All the Ash We Leave Behind by C Robert Cargill is a compelling novella set in Cargill’s post-robot-apocalypse series of books. It’s straightforward but still manages to give it all some weight and social commentary.

I fell in love with the show Slow Horses this year so I’ve also started getting into Mick Herron’s books. As much as I love the show, and I REALLY love the show, the books seem to go a lot further in pushing the envelope and offering more characterization. I’ve only read the first book so far but I’m starting the next one this coming week actually.

King Sorrow by Joe Hill might be my favorite book of the year. Well, I’m the one who decides what my favorite was so I’m going to commit damn it. This IS my favorite of the year. Three-dimensional characters, a horrifyingly fresh new take on having a wish granted, and doing what I love most in genre fiction, which is using a high concept as a mirror to our world to get in and talk about things of substance.

Finally, Batman: Revolution by John Jackson Miller is a rad addition to his series of books set between the first two Tim Burton Batman movies. It introduces some familiar faces like The Riddler (I was picturing Robin Williams in the role) while also fleshing in some characters who don’t become fully realized until Batman Returns like Max Schreck and Selina Kyle. But at the end of the day, it’s simply a great Batman story. Speaking of The Riddler, this is the best take on that character I’ve encountered to date. Worth checking out if you’re a fellow Bat-fan.

On half of these I experimented with how granulated watercolors would interact with splattered masking fluid and the results have some possibilities. If you’re unfamiliar, granulated watercolors have a few other pigments in them and as they dry they have unpredictable results, which is a lot of fun. Some of those pigments, notably some magenta, stuck to the specks of masking fluid, creating fun little borders around them.

I’m also rather happy with the fourth one. It’s got a magical quality to it that I’m going to have to think about how I could replicate in a finished piece.

Thursday I worked my first volunteer shift at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in the coat check area. It was a delightful experience and it did what I wanted it to: Give me an opportunity to talk to some human beings. I’m not there for career jockeying or connections or any of that capitalist nonsense, I’m there for the purpose of improving my own mental health and so far it’s doing exactly that. I’ve done enough public-facing jobs and worked enough convention booths that I’m comfortable with the actual work part of it and that allows me to get what I need out of this.

Because coat check is one of the two possible last areas that museum visitors will interact with (the other being the gift shop of course), I thought it’d be nice to ask some people what their favorite thing they saw was. The answers were AWESOME.

Every person had a different answer and reason for why those works spoke to them. I adore this because it so elegantly shows how art is subjective and is there for each individual in ways that are specific to them.

What’s good art? The art that you like looking at. That’s what it truly boils down to. Sure, you can learn about craft and technique and historical importance and blah blah blah but at the end of the day it’s about each person’s emotional truth.

That’s important.

Each person is important.

You? You’re important.

Love you more,
Rob