Walt Disney hired many creative people to help make Disneyland a reality by opening day, July 17th, 1955. In addition to the people he hired to build the park attractions, establish the restaurants etc., he also hired many artists to design all that could be seen around the park, as well as what guests could purchase in the souvenir shops. One of those artists, was a man named Charles Boyer, who managed to have a successful career as an artist despite the fact that he suffered from color-blindness.
Charles Boyer (no relation to the actor) first knew that he wanted to be an artist in high school. Growing up in Southern California, he fell in love with the desert landscape in the Imperial Valley, and in his teens, he won first place at the Imperial Valley County Fair. He was also a huge fan of the works of Vincent Van Gogh.
After high school, he took art classes at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles. (He attended the school before Walt and Roy Disney merged Chouinard with the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music to form the California Institute of the Arts or CalArts in 1961.) While attending classes in both cartooning and design, he performed double duty as a janitor for the school, which earned him a “working scholarship.” His classes inspired him to pursue a career in commercial arts rather than fine arts, and he ultimately was employed as an illustrator by the marketing and advertising department at Disneyland.
His job at Disneyland was meant to be temporary, but temporary turned into 39 years. While working there he designed everything from magazine covers, brochures, oil portraits, and almost 50 lithographs. His work was produced in every artistic medium, including pastels, oils, watercolors, gouache, acrylics, pencil, and ink. One of his most beloved pieces was “Partners, a painting of Walt Disney hand-in-hand with Mickey Mouse, painted in 1981. The painting was later designed, though in a different pose for the “Partners,” statue at Disneyland. He also designed a work called “Triple Self-Portrait,” which featured Walt Disney looking in a mirror and painting a portrait of Mickey Mouse, painted in 1978. This work was inspired by a Norman Rockwell painting of the same name.
Boyer was very humble and modest, and when he retired in 1999, he was quoted as saying “I know people can do things they like. I wasn’t very good when I came out of school. I spent 40 years getting this good. I’ve worked with such great people. My wife used to ask me if I was actually getting any work done because I was having so much fun.” Charles Boyer was named a Disney Legend in 2005, and was given a window in Main Street in Disneyland with his name written on it. He passed away yesterday, February 13th, 2021, at the age of 86.
His son, Bruce Boyer, said “Dad was the first artist who could make Mickey look real, in the real world. That was the gift my Dad gave to Disney, bringing Mickey to life. That’s what he loved to do; paint realistically. Goofy, Donald, he brought them to life too.” Charles Boyer’s life is an inspiration. He’s a perfect example of never being afraid to pursue what you love to do. Even his color-blind disability didn’t stop him. He surprised himself and continues to inspire others with what they can accomplish.
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