Artist Ron Cambell has brought his ‘Beatles Cartoon Art Show’ to Center Framing & Art in West Hartford Center.

By Ronni Newton

When Ron Campbell decided to retire from the world of animation, he chose to become a painter.

Seated at a table in the middle of Center Framing & Art on Farmington Avenue in West Hartford Center, Campbell, now 77, is surrounded by dozens of water color paintings of characters that have been part of his life for more than 50 years.

Campbell began working in animation in 1965, directing the Saturday Morning Beatles Cartoon series, which ran through 1969. He has also helped develop, draw, animate, or direct a wide assortment of cartoon shows including Scooby-Doo, The Jetsons, Winnie the Pooh, the Smurfs, Krazy Kat, Rugrats, and many more. He said he started with the Beatles, and ended his career with “Ed, Edd n Eddy.”

“When I decided to paint, I thought, what on earth do I paint?” he said. Ruling out the cactus growing in the garden of his home north of Phoenix, Campbell looked at what he already knew well.

“I decided to do paintings of all the cartoons I have worked on,” said Campbell. He was following in the footsteps of a man he had long admired – Chuck Jones, a former animator of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters (Bugs Bunny, Road Runner, etc.) – and Jones had become a painter of cartoon characters in his retirement. Like Jones, Campbell uses pen and water color.

The Beatles drawings are among the most popular and best selling, Campbell said, because they are appreciated by people who enjoy the music as well as the painted characters.

Campbell said one of the proudest moments of his career came when he won a Peabody Award for Excellence in Children’s Programming for “The Big Blue Marble.” The show also received several Emmy awards.

There’s a lot more to animated shows, especially the early ones, than people may think, Campbell said.

Campbell said he was involved early on in the development of Scooby-Doo in 1968. “We knew you would love Scooby-Doo,” he said.

Scooby had trouble pronouncing his words correctly, and would get frustrated – just like a 3-year-old, Campbell said. “Every child would sympathize with Scooby-Doo, empathize with Scooby-Do, and feel sorry for the dog for the rest of their lives. They would love Scooby-Doo, but not remember why,” said Campbell.

Campbell’s one-man show visits one city per month. “I’m honored that he’s here,” said Lori Chozick, owner of Center Framing & Art.

Chozick recently moved her gallery from LaSalle Road to 968 Farmington Ave., but was happy to completely clear the space and repaint the walls to accommodate Campbell’s work. “This doesn’t happen every day,” she said.

Chozick sees Campbell’s work as upbeat and happy, and her two personal favorites – “All You Need is Love” and another depicting the four Beatles carrying umbrellas – are displayed on a wall all their own. “I love how he painted the mat,” she said of “Love.”

Campbell’s “Beatles Cartoon Art Show” will be on display at Center Framing & Art through Sunday, Oct. 16. The gallery is open Friday night until 8 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 15 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 16, from noon – 4 p.m.

Visit centerframingandart.com for more information.

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