If you’ve ever watched cartoons, you’ve probably seen work by Ron Campbell. Ron spent the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s working on some of America’s most popular cartoons including Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, The Smurfs, Rugrats, The Jetsons, Rocket Power, and Ed, Edd, ‘n’ Eddy to name only a few. By the time he retired in the early 2000s, Ron had worked a huge range of positions from storyboard artist to illustrator to director.
Now the famous cartoonist is coming to the Holy City. He will be appearing at the Art Mecca of Charleston from September 25-27 where you can chat with him while he live paints. Campbell will be selling his works, but the event is free to attend.
Campbell is often noted for directing The Beatles cartoon and animating around twelve minutes of the Beatles feature length animated motion picture, Yellow Submarine with his fellow artist Duane Crowther. After 50 years of working for companies like Hanna-Barbera, Disney, Nickelodeon, and his own animation studio, Ron Campbell Films, Inc., he retired in 2008.
Retirement though didn’t keep Mr. Campbell in one place. He moved from his original animation style into painting original pop-art based on the various films and shows he was involved in. Campbell travels the country with Scott Segelbaum’s Rock Art Show selling his work.
Campbell told us that shows like these are the only places to get your hands on an original painting. “I only sell at shows,” he said, “I don’t sell online, I don’t sell to people I haven’t met.” Fans anxious to meet Campbell will get the opportunity while he’s in town, though he did admit that his events tend to be crowded. “People have a tendency to collect my paintings,” he told us.
When asked why, he attributed the success of his sales to the global fascination with American cartoons. “American popular culture is everywhere, all over the world. You can go to Uganda and see popular culture,” he says.
If anyone should know the reach of American pop culture, it’s Campbell. He has lived and worked in many different geographical locations including Australia, London, and Hollywood. We see Campbell’s art as a bridge between past and present, a way of keeping those classic cartoons alive today. Even though technology has allowed for more colors and more intricate plots, there’s something about the originals that we don’t think will ever be replaced.
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