Rob Schamberger on Painting Wrestling’s World Champions and Working With WWE

Fred: I have via Skype a very special guest, the artist to all of your favorite professional wrestlers, who’s going to be making an appearance during WrestleMania week in New Orleans: the great Rob Schamberger. How are you doing?

Rob Schamberger: Doing great. Thanks for having me on the show.

Fred: You do a ton of great artwork. I feel like you’re literally the go-to guy for any wrestler who wants an awesome Twitter or Facebook profile picture or background. You’re well known for your wrestling portraits, but what came first for you, art or pro wrestling?

Rob Schamberger: Art first. I got into art when I was about 7. My older stepbrother bought me my first comic book, and we spent the whole weekend redrawing everything. I knew right then that art was what I wanted to do. I didn’t actually get into wrestling until I was about 18. Like every young man living on his own, I was at my parents’ place doing laundry, and my stepfather, who’d been a fan back in the ’60s and ’70s, was flipping through the channels and landed on Nitro. It was about ’98, and Ric Flair was cutting a promo in the ring. I was hooked right there. The next week, I tried to find wrestling, didn’t know the difference between WWF and WCW and luckily landed on Raw, and they were killing it at that time. I’ve been a fan since.

Fred: When you see Ric Flair, it’s like, “Holy crap, it’s Ric Flair.” Was there anybody in particular who kept you coming back?

Rob Schamberger: At that time, there was definitely The Rock, Stone Cold and the Undertaker, but I also really enjoyed Chris Jericho and the tag division, with the Hardys and Edge and Christian, and soon the Dudleys. It was a great time to be a fan. It still is, but back then it was really great.

Fred: That’s around the same time I got into wrestling. I see the World’s Strongest Man mean-mugging us in the background.

Rob Schamberger: He’s pretty angry there, isn’t he?

Fred: When did you realize you could actually make a living in art?

Rob Schamberger: I self-published my first comic book when I was 17 and started getting a feeling for how you can cut your own path. I did comic book work and some gallery work for the next 13 years or so, with success here and there, but I wasn’t able to make the switch to full time. About three years ago, I started focusing on wrestling, and since then it’s been my full-time profession.

Fred: I saw an old news piece where you said you were trying to paint all 270-something world champions in wrestling history. Did you ever complete the project?

Rob Schamberger: Still working on it. This Mark Henry one is part of that project. I’ve done about 105 so far, all bigger pieces like these, and there will be about 250 or so when I’m done. Luckily, it’s one I can take my time with, and I want to take my time, because I’m commemorating every one of these world champions.

Fred: The WWE Network just came out a few weeks ago. Your art takes up a lot of your time, but as a wrestling fan, it must be like heaven at your fingertips. Have you had a chance to play around with it?

Rob Schamberger: Absolutely. While I work, I’ll have a screen up showing Netflix or a DVD, and lately it’s been the Network, like “Legends of Wrestling.” I really like that. I don’t watch a lot of match footage while I’m working, because if a match is on, I’ll end up watching the match, but I really enjoy the documentaries. I’m a history nerd for wrestling anyway.

Fred: As am I. No shame there. Social media has really gotten the word out about your talents. Is that how you got hooked up with WWE?

Rob Schamberger: Roundabout. When I started the whole project, I did a Kickstarter to fund it and got a lot of people’s attention. WWE saw my work early on and did an article on me in probably my first year of the project. Then, about midway through last year, we started working together and putting together different things we could do. Toward the end of last year, we started selling some of my original pieces through the WWE auction site, and we’re continuing with that and getting into more things together.

Fred: How surreal is that? Being a wrestling fan, you can’t get any bigger than WWE, and now you’re not only painting guys you watch on TV every week and grew up on, but you’re working with them.

Rob Schamberger: It’s surreal, and it’s neat. I’ve become friendly with several of the guys. I talk to Jim Ross on a regular basis. He was the No. 1 announcer when I started watching, so to me, he is the voice of wrestling. Hearing his voice on the other side of the phone is a lot of fun.

Fred: You’ve done a lot of great pieces. A couple of my favorites are the ones you did of Chris Hero and Edge. Is there one you’re most proud of?

Rob Schamberger: My Champions Collection piece of Edge is my personal best, I think. On a technical level, it hit everything I wanted it to. He and I ended up becoming friendly shortly after I posted it, then we met at an event, and we’ve struck up a friendship since. He was just starting out when I started watching, so I pretty much watched his whole career, and it’s neat that now he’s someone I know as Adam instead of Edge.

Fred: What’s the hardest painting you’ve ever had to do?

Rob Schamberger: I push myself on all of them, and I know that’s a cop-out answer, but the toughest guy to capture a likeness of is Stone Cold. He doesn’t have a lot of identifiable features. When he’s in motion, you don’t notice that, but in a still image, trying to capture his likeness is pretty tough.

Fred: Was there an artist who inspired you, or someone in your family who passed art along to you?

Rob Schamberger: It’s definitely that early love of comic books and studying so many of those artists and how they crossed over into other art fields. Guys like Dave McKean and Bill Sienkiewicz gave me a greater appreciation of art, and from there I learned who their influences were, and who those people’s influences were. I probably get as much from one of those guys as I do from Pablo Picasso.

Fred: You don’t just paint wrestlers, either. What’s the most awkward art request you’ve ever had?

Rob Schamberger: That’s easy. In my first Kickstarter, people could get me to do a specific painting of whatever they’d like, and I assumed they’d all want wrestlers. One guy asked, “Can you do a painting of me as a wrestler?” I said sure. Then he came back and said, “Actually, I made a character of myself in a wrestling video game. Can you paint that?” He’d contributed, so I said OK, and he sent it over. I painted it and sent it back, and he said, “Man, thank you so much. My mom loves it. She’s got it hanging on her wall.” She’s got a weird, uncanny-valley video game representation of her son.

Fred: You made a mom’s dream come true, man.

Rob Schamberger: Changing lives for the better every day. That’s what I do.

Fred: What’s the biggest misconception about being an artist as a career path?

Rob Schamberger: A lot of people don’t understand that art is work, and that doing anything you enjoy is still work. That’s tough to get through to people. Also, I do this for a living. Occasionally I’ll do gifts for friends, but I don’t just do this for fun. This is how I pay my bills, and some people have trouble understanding that. You go to the dentist, and he asks, “Can you do a painting of my daughter?” And I’m like, “Sure, and can you do this filling for me for free?”

Fred: You’ve got some big plans for WrestleMania weekend and the coming days. Tell everybody what you’re involved with at Planet Comicon.

Rob Schamberger: Planet Comicon starts tomorrow and goes through Sunday. I’ll be exhibiting my art and have prints and some originals for people to purchase. On Saturday at noon, I’ll sit in on a panel about crowdfunding and my Kickstarter experience, and I’ll do some live art there, too. Then, for the four days of WrestleMania Axxess, I’ll be set up right inside the front door, outside the superstore, doing live art all day, every day. That’s not just for the Axxess sessions. When they open the doors at 11 or noon, it’s free to the public to get into the superstore and see what I’m doing, and I’ll have original paintings available, too.

Fred: I’m assuming you’re also attending WrestleMania.

Rob Schamberger: Yes, and I’m also going to the Hall of Fame, which I’m excited about. I’ve been to one WrestleMania, 24, but I’ve never been to a Hall of Fame, so this is pretty exciting.

Fred: Are you part of the Yes Movement?

Rob Schamberger: Sure. Up on the WWE auction site right now, we’ve got a signed painting of Daniel Bryan.

Fred: Even Daniel Bryan’s holding it. If it’s good enough for Daniel Bryan, it’s good enough for anyone. Where can fans find you and your great work online?

Rob Schamberger: RobSchamberger.com is the main site, and I’m on Twitter as Rob Schamberger. On Facebook, it’s Art of Rob Schamberger. I’m on Instagram and YouTube, too. I’m all over all of it.

Fred: I saw some of your YouTube videos, and they’re very cool. You do a great job. Really happy for your success.

Rob Schamberger: Thanks very much.