I feel like I've hit a bit of mental block recently; my work is good, I know that. But it's not good enough.

I am aware I will probably never ever feel like my work is good enough, but I feel like I'm very close to leveling up with my paintings but I just can't quite find that remaining XP to get there. It's so very frustrating.

I can look at a piece of work and be happy with it but I always find myself looking for something in it that's not quite there. I really don't know whether its to do with my style? My subject matter? My painting skills? My use of colour?

I'm toying with certain ideas. At the moment I feel like there may not be enough texture in my work, everything looks a little too soft and smooth and flat (hence the above study). Particularly with one of my more recent paintings here:


I like it and I'm pleased with it and yet... its missing something?

It's such a tricky situation and I think the only way I'm going to get over it is to paint more unique paintings (as opposed to copying photos). This means powering through a tonne of frustration and self-loathing until I finally reach the tipping point and send my work over to the next level.

Have any other artists felt like they've hit something similar in their own work? Does anyone see space for improvement in the paintings I do? Something I'm not seeing perhaps?