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Hi. My name's Rob Schamberger. I'm that guy who paints rasslers. And other stuff. But I never saw the good side of the city ‘til I hitched a ride on a river boat queen.
WORDS
My new Young Bucks painting is a great opportunity to talk about my thinking with how I often approach my work. I’m always looking for the ‘story’ a painting is telling, whether it be obvious with what the subjects are doing in the piece, or in this one how I’m utilizing their poses and the contrast of warm and cool colors to break up the composition. It’s important to keep a viewer’s eyes moving through a painting, just like how watching a Young Bucks match keeps your eyes bouncing all over the ring.
Obviously I want to make something that people enjoy looking at, but these kinds of challenges I put on myself keeps the making of the paintings super fun as well. Hopefully you dig looking at it as much as I dug making it!
UPCOMING AEW/PWT PRINTS
Mina Shirakawa
Thekla
Tay Melo
Jon Moxley
Will Ospreay
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###BlueskyCaraYouTube
‘Raftsmen Playing Cards’ 1847
ART I LIKE
The St Louis Art Museum has a wonderful collection of paintings by George Caleb Bingham which delighted me when we visited a few weeks back. He was based out of the Kansas City area but surprisingly we don’t have too many of his works at the Nelson-Atkins Museum.
‘Jolly Flatboatmen in Port’ 1857
Bingham was a prominent artist who dedicated his life to continuing to study and learn, even after gaining national recognition for his works. He was a prominent member of the Luminist art movement, creating tranquil landscape-based scenes although he differed quite a bit with the addition of figures and storytelling. During his life he was known as ‘The Missouri Artist’ and in researching him I learned that was for far more than just his geographic location and choice of subject matter.
‘Stump Speaking’ 1853-54
Bingham was instrumental in keeping Missouri from joining the Confederacy during the Civil War and was a part in deposing then-Governor Jackson, who had become pro-secession. Post-War, he was appointed as the first Chief of Police for Kansas City and towards the end of his life he became the first Professor of Art at the recently-formed University of Missouri (Go Tigers).
By the early 1900’s Bingham and his works were largely forgotten until the 1930’s when Thomas Hart Benton began to name him as one of his favorite artists, leading to museums beginning to show his works. By the end of the century he’s come to be regarded as one of America’s greatest artists, a sentiment I thoroughly agree with.
OLDEST KANSAS CITY BY KATY SCHAMBERGER
Speaking of Kansas City history, my wife Katy’s latest book Oldest Kansas City is now ready for preorder! She’s worked really hard on this, doing deep research in all corners of the city to find as many oldest oldest gems and stories as possible.
Here’s the description:
The first bank robbed in peacetime, the world’s oldest continuously operating movie theater, the building where professional baseball changed forever—you’ll discover each of these landmarks and more in Oldest Kansas City.
Author Katy Schamberger takes you on a trip back in time to Kansas City’s earliest days along the Missouri River bluffs and through the ensuing decades that saw equal parts devastation and triumph. You’ll discover the far-reaching influence of Kansas City, from what we eat (the Happy Meal started here) to what we wear (America’s first cowboy boot) to what we watch (was Mickey Mouse really created here?).
Grab extra napkins and take a mouthwatering tour of Kansas City’s barbecue history, including the world’s first barbecue museum. As you explore the city, tune your radio to KPRS 103.3 FM, the country’s longest-running black-owned radio station. Or enjoy your soundtrack live at the oldest still-operating jazz club in the US.
Schamberger, a tireless advocate for exploration both near and far, brings her love of discovery and exploration to the pages of Oldest Kansas City. She balances well-known Kansas City lore with people, places, and stories that have been lost to the passage of time—until now.
If you’ve met Katy, you know exactly what her unique energy is all about and how passionate she gets about telling the stories of others. Preorders are really important to a book’s success, so it would mean a lot to us if you could get one for yourself. They start shipping on September 1st. Thanks!
(There’s a story in there about a notable tree that I helped her find out about that’s honestly so cool.)
So pretty!
IMPORTANT GARDEN UPDATE
I picked my first bell pepper harvest for the season a couple days ago and gosh they’re so pretty. I’ll chop the purple ones up for breakfast burritos and the others I plan to roast up and then soak in olive oil. They’re INCREDIBLE that way, especially sautéed up. Once they’re eaten, then I’ll have that delicious pepper-infused olive oil to use with other dishes.
I imagine I’ll get another couple dozen peppers at least by the end of the season. I’ve also found that homegrown bell peppers have way more flavor than the store-bought ones, with the green ones quite a bit more mild even before they start to turn colors. I compost vegetables and egg shells in the off season in the elevated beds that I grow these in which I think helps a ton. I’ve been doing that for half a decade now so that soil’s organic AF.
I just need them to make it through August without too much heat damage and this might be my best crop yet!
Love you more,Rob