Staff Photo by Danielle Moore
Adam Snider, left, and his son Keelan Snider check out some of the classic rock artwork on display at Hamilton Place on Saturday. Both are big fans of The Beatles and wanted to see old concert photographs as well meet cartoonist, Ron Campbell.

As Ron Campbell drew a cartoon image of the Beatles for one of his customers, he told them of his life in the land of submarines.

And he admitted he never met any of the Beatles except for a brief interaction with Ringo Starr when his wife bought one of Mr. Campbell's portraits of one of the legendary band members.

"The Beatles should be proud to meet me," he said with a laugh, obvious that he was honored to play a role in making the band a legend in the cartoon world.

Mr. Campbell, the director of the Saturday morning Beatles cartoon series and animator on the Beatles film "Yellow Submarine," debuted new art and featured some of his classic pieces for the KZ-106 Classic Rock Art Show on Friday and Saturday at Hamilton Place mall. Mr. Campbell will also be at the show from noon to 6 p.m. today.

The Art Rock Show is exhibited throughout the country and features a collection of work from a broad range of classic artists including Paul McCartney, Ron Wood and Lynyrd Skynyrd, said Scott Segelbaum, creator-producer of the Rock Art Show.

"We have a visual history of rock 'n' roll put in frames," he said.

Some of the rare pieces include handwritten song lyrics and original signed artwork by Paul McCartney, Mr. Segelbaum said. Everything at the show is for sale, from the $5 concert ticket bills to rare $5,000 pieces of art, as well as the featured cartoons by Mr. Campbell, Mr. Segelbaum said.

It is a "special treat" to have Mr. Campbell at the show because he only makes a few appearances a year, he said.

The cartoonist, originally from Australia who now lives in Phoenix, said he first heard of Chattanooga when he was 4 years old and "Chattanooga Choo-Choo" first became a popular song.

"I heard of Chattanooga before I had heard of New York," Mr. Campbell said. "Chattanooga was some wonderful exotic place somewhere on the other side of the Pacific Ocean."

Ever since, Mr. Campbell said he wanted to visit the city.

The artist also featured work from other cartoons he helped draw including "Scooby-Doo," "George of the Jungle," "The Flinstones" and "The Smurfs."

One customer experienced a unique feature of the show as Mr. Campell wrote a letter of authenticity and drew an orginal Beatles picture for Barry Boswell, of Calhoun, Ga., when he purchased a picture from his collection.

"I remember the cartoon show being on when I was little," Mr. Boswell said.

The retired artist said he still loves to draw cartoons and he is working on an original piece for the end of the show today.

"I adore (cartoons)," he said. "(As a child) I didn't understand how they moved. Then when I learned they were drawings, I didn't believe it."

If you go

* What: The KZ106 Classic Rock Art Show

* When: Noon-6 p.m. Today

* Where: Hamilton Place, I-75 at Shallowford Road

* Admission: Free.

* Phone: 756-6141