Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley: Tainted Love Original Painting

Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley: Tainted Love

Pen, Liquid Acrylic, Wash and Ink on 14" x 11" bristol board

One of the most frequent questions I get is how I decide what I’m going to paint next. A lot of factors go into it, but sometimes it’s as easy as seeing something on the WWE shows and wanting to recreate it. That’s exactly what happened when I saw for the first time Rhea Ripley leaning in towards Dominik Mysterio and whispering into his ear. It’s such a strong, compelling visual I immediately jumped on it.

With this piece especially, I want the viewer to ask themselves questions. What’s Rhea saying to Dom? How are those words and the person saying them influencing him? Is that why the highlights in his eyes are the same color as her? Why did I pick those specific colors for her, but color him differently?

I’ll leave it up to you to answer for yourself.

Artwork by Rob Schamberger, painted in 2022