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colorful figures and animals, drawn in cartoon style, playing instruments and marching playfully alongside a train
Roger Armstrong, Crazy Drawing, 2007, Watercolor, crayon, and soft-tip pen on wove-screen paper, 29 x 37 x 2 in. The Buck Collection at UCI Jack and Shanaz Langson Institute and Museum of California Art

Crazy Drawing

Roger Armstrong

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Musings | Monthly Muse April 2022

When was the last time you experienced a full, deep-bellied laugh? I’ve been thinking a lot about comedy and joy lately. It’s so much harder to make someone laugh than it is to make them cry. So much simpler to keep moving than to pass on a word of kindness or elicit a smile. The world has felt so heavy these last two years. We all could use some laughter.

Many reading this may be familiar with the artist Roger Armstrong, an Orange County darling who launched his career in animation working for the likes of Disney and Warner Bros. Known for creating funny animal comic books, he was also recognized for his talent as a Southern California oil and watercolor painter of the everyday. Crazy Drawing  (2007), painted by Armstrong in the last few months of his life, made me stop, look, and giggle. What is this brightly colored, unusual cast of characters up to? The capacity for this small work to spark joy is, frankly, delightful. I invite you to pause and experience just that. And maybe share a joke with the next person you see.

Kate Heusner
Executive Director of Development, Langson IMCA

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Langson IMCA’s ongoing collections research continues to provide new information, which will result in updates, revisions, and enhancements to object records. At the time of publication image credits are reviewed by Langson IMCA’s curatorial staff and reflect the most current information the museum has in its database but may be incomplete.