Graduate Student's Solo Show on Exhibit in Library

E. H. Butler Library is featuring a solo exhibition of vibrant oil paintings and mixed-media pieces by Joyce Cromwell, ‘72, ‘13, an award-winning artist, Buffalo State alumna, and graduate student.

Oils, Retro-Cats, and Miniatures, includes about 25 oil paintings of familiar scenes—Buffalo State, Delaware Park, Forest Lawn—and portraits, and multiple drawings of cats. The exhibit is displayed on the walls that wrap around the library's circulation desk. Additionally, a group of Cromwell's miniature paintings are grouped in a glass case at the front of the lobby. The exhibit runs through June 13.

Years after earning a bachelor’s degree in English from Buffalo State, Cromwell ran into Lin Xia Jiang, professor of fine arts. After one class, she was inspired to pursue her lifelong love of drawing and painting. In 2013, she completed dual degrees—a B.F.A. in painting and a B.A. in art history.

“Lin Jiang became a mentor to me and encouraged me to pursue that dream,” said Cromwell, who spent the previous years teaching English, writing for a Florida newspaper, and holding other non-visual arts jobs.

Since getting back into painting, she has participated in exhibits including the Cheyenne Arts Guide Juried Art Show in Cheyenne, Wyoming; the Island Ford Art in Statesville, North Carolina; the Lucky 13 National Small Works Exhibition and Competition in Mesquite, Nevada; and the Figurama International Traveling Exhibition in the Czech Republic. She’s a member of the Buffalo-based Western New York Artists Group and the Niagara Frontier Plein Air Painters.

This spring, Susan Jaworski, of the interlibrary loan service and library exhibit co-coordinator, asked Cromwell if she’d be interested in putting together a solo show. 

“Preparing for this solo exhibition was a lot of work but a great experience,” Cromwell said. “Overall, I’m happy to be growing as an artist at Buffalo State.”

For more information, contact the library at (716) 878-6303.

Pictured: Buffalo State Goalposts by Joyce Cromwell