Diana Probst, Cambridge Artist

Professional Envy

I’ve been looking at my portfolio recently, and if there’s a cure for professional envy, that’s it.

I’m a really good artist, but sometimes I compare myself to people who’ve been painting for twenty years, or professional comic book artists who are paid for particular outcomes, or digital painters who have a different set of rules. But I have to remember a lot of people think like that. You can have a whole lab or an entire studio all wondering if they are frauds and when they will be found out. I looked over what I had done recently for things to post, not for things that showed if I was good or bad, and it turns out that other than the bad iphone pics, everything’s good enough. It’s not perfect, although some details and some designs make me stare at them with an odd, happy smile, but it’s all pretty good, and I’m getting better.