It’s likely Ron Campbell’s work was part of your life growing up. During his 50-year career, the animator was involved in a number of cartoons, such as Scooby Doo, Rugrats, Smurfs, Winnie the Pooh, the Flintstones, the Jetsons and many more.
And childhood memories are exactly what Campbell hopes to offer those who visit his show at Lanning Gallery. From Friday, April 12, through Sunday, April 14, the Australian artist will be exhibiting and selling his work, as well as answering questions about the paintings and cartoons he’s done over the years.
“The exhibition will have about 60 different pieces, all based on cartoon shows I worked on,” Campbell said. “It’s a very colorful and much of the artwork will be remembered by the people from their childhood.”
Campbell might be best known for being one of the animators on the Beatles’ movie “Yellow Submarine” and directing the Saturday Morning Beatles Cartoon series. The pieces on the legendary band will make up for most of the work exhibited: From illustrations inspired on the movies he animated to paintings based on iconic pictures of the Beatles — such as a, in his words, “very colorful Abbey Road” — fans will have a lot to see.
However, when he was first approached about the series in the early ‘60s, things were a little different. When a producer called and asked if he wanted to work on a cartoon about the Beatles. Campbell, who was 24 years old at the time, was unsure about the proposal.
“Insects make terrible characters,” he recalled saying. “I was only vaguely aware of their existence [but] I quickly became aware of who they were … having to make the films, I got to listen to their music with much interest and, like everybody else, enjoyed the music.”
Nowadays, Campbell knows way more about the Beatles than he did back then and is happy to tell some anecdotes to people curious about the animations and listen to them share stories of growing up watching the cartoon or seeing band play the Ed Sullivan Show or Shea Stadium.
Campbell will be exhibiting his work at Lanning, a Bryant Nagel Gallery, at 431 SR 179, on Friday, April 12, from 4 to 8 p.m.; Saturday, April 13, from noon to 6 p.m. and Sunday, April 14, from noon to 4 p.m. He offers certifications of his artwork by drawing a character from the painting in front of the customer who bought it. For kids, he gives out drawings of Scooby Doo.
“If you have an interest in cartoons and remember watching them as a child, it’s the place to be,” Campbell said.
Natasha Heinz can be reached at 282-7795 ext. 117, or email at nheinz@larsonnewspapers.com
