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a painting – you can never make two paintings exactly the same way,” she explains. “With watercolor, there is always something serendipitous that happens.”

She notes many people don’t like watercolor because it is one of the most difficult mediums to use – it cannot be erased or painted over.

“It isn’t very forgiving, and it can be a really tough medium to use,” she says. “But, something unexpected and exciting always happens, and I like that.”

For the most part, Liberty is actually self-taught in watercolor painting.

“I don’t have a lot of education in watercolor at all,” she states. “I took one beginning watercolor class in college just for fun, and I found out it’s what I loved the most.”

She recalls the teacher of the class was a graduate student who was busy with his own work and didn’t give the class a lot of instruction.

“He gave us our paper, gave us our brushes and wished us luck,” she laughs. “He said, ‘Find something you think is interesting and paint it, because if it isn’t interesting to you, you won’t want to do the work.’”

Looking back, Liberty says this is possibly the best advice she has ever received, and to this day she continues painting the things that interest her the most.

Accomplishments and current work

Today, Liberty is an accomplished and award-winning artist, who has been featured in many of the magazines she found inspiration in as a little girl – Cowboy Magazine, Range Magazine, The Record Stockman, The Cornerstone, Small Farmers Journal and even in previous editions of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup, just

Affordable Art

One of the greatest criticisms Liberty Proffit Day has faced in the art industry is the way she prices her work.

After pulling paintings from galleries across the state, Liberty now sells her work on her personal website libertyproffitday.com and at several cowboy cultural gatherings including the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nev.

“I have come under fire for the way I price my art quite a bit, but I don’t think I could live with myself if I start pricing it out of range of the culture I am celebrating,” she says. “I enjoy selling my art to people who can appreciate it because they have actually been there, so they need to be able to afford it.” to name a few.

She has received numerous awards and been deemed a professional Western watercolorist, a title she says that really snuck up on her.

When it comes to the most rewarding aspect of making art, Liberty notes it comes down to preserving the Western culture and special memories for families who commission her to do custom

Continued on next page paintings of their late family members or favorite animals.

“The thing I am most proud of though, in general, is how blessed I am to have the family I do and to have been raised where I was and how I was,” she says. “I love being able to raise my kids this way – with a focus on faith, hard work and love, and reminding them these three things are everlasting.”

Liberty’s work can be viewed and purchased on her website at libertyproffitday.com or her Facebook page @LibertyProffitDayArt.

Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.