I sometimes wonder if it is me or gimp that has got better !
But though it frustrated me when I first used it GIMP is now excellent ! Paired with darktable running on Ubuntu studio it is easy and fast to work with !
Its a little slower and clunkier on windows but still.pretty good
I use it with KDENLIVE for videowork - and my workflow has never been simpler or faster and the cost is zilch
Gimp gets my love!