Hello Scottish Wrestling fans and once again welcome to another SWN Fan Art Corner Artist Interview. We haven’t done one of these for a while but I’ve managed to secure an interview with one of the top people who make Scottish Wrestling art great and who adds colour to the wrestling landscape. Rob Downie aka Robart Downie.
We’ve all admired his work for some time now and he has a forever growing fan base with both fans and wrestlers alike. He was a hard man to reach because of how busy his schedule was but he’s been gracious enough to let me pick his brain and spend a little time answering our questions. So without further ado let me pass it over to him. Enjoy.
If you can just start by introducing yourself and telling us what you like to do?
I’m Rob Downie. I’ve always loved cartoons and comics, and I have a bit of a thing for turning real life things into cartoons.
First question. How long have you watched wrestling?
Nearly 3 years. I was a bit late to the party.
Can you remember the moment you first fell in love with wrestling? What was it about it that attracted you?
I remember when wrestling got popular when I was at school…and I just didn’t enjoy it at all. I was still collecting Pokemon cards at the time. My first time going to a show was at a WCPW show in Meadowbank in 2017. I had recently got offered a job working on WhatCulture’s “WWE Superstar Diaries” series after my brother, Eoin, who’d been watching wrestling for years before me, commissioned 3 “Adam vs Adam” pictures from me and gifted them to them at a show. And as you can probably guess, I didn’t know much about wrestling at all at the time and was going to need to study up. So I decided to finally give it a chance…and I wound up yelling like crazy during Joe Hendry’s match with Drew Galloway. It’s safe to say I was a fan after that show.
Who have been your favourites to watch? Past, present and any tips for the future? And what has been your favourite match/event?
I’ve too many favourite wrestlers to count now. But Session Moth Martina, Grado and Lou King Sharp spring to mind. I think I like them loud and funny.
Whenever I get asked about my favourite matches, the same match always pops into my head first. And that was Discovery Wrestling’s Halloween match between Gene Munny and Sugar Dunkerton, where the ring was surrounded with zombies. It was so creative and fun. Not to mention that was the match that gave birth to The Munndertaker too.
How does wrestling inspire your work? And what does Scottish Wrestling art mean to you?
Like I said, I just love turning real life things into cartoons. And I realised quickly that a lot of moments I’ve seen in wrestling can be translated so nicely into cartoon form. The good thing about being able to draw it is you can emphasise and exaggerate things like the actions and expressions and really capture what those moments felt like. And I’ve had some of the nicest feedback from nearly all of the wrestlers I’ve drawn too, and quite a few of them have even commissioned me for merchandise now. There’s such a great sense of community in wrestling and I love it.
Where can we find your work?
Facebook @robartdownie
Twitter @robartdownie
Instagram @robartdownie
Anything you’d like to add?
Commissions are currently open 😉
Once again I’d like to thank Rob for taking time out of his busy schedule to speak to us and we hope you’ve enjoyed reading more about him.
I think we’ll try and do another story with Rob so if you have anything you’d like to know then send in your questions and we can put them to him next time.
Thanks for tuning in.
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If you have a Scottish Wrestling inspired fan art piece and would like to be featured, get in contact is with us
Instagram: @themaskedembroiderer
Twitter: @TEmbroiderer
Or email us ScotWresNet@gmail.com
Or use the hashtags #scottishwrestlingart or #scottishwrestlingfanart
Thanks again see you next time.
🆂🆆🅽 | Scottish Wrestling Network 