Natascha
 

Hi Carolyn,

OK, I didn't understand the context. I've had a client get annoyed with me for incorporating something THEY insisted on into a commissioned piece (not a portrait). The reasoning was that I, as the artist, should have known better and essentially protected them from their own bad judgment. It was useless to point out that I'd tried to do just that to no avail. Since then I try to establish control early in the process. If I see something that looks awkward or off to me early on, I try to be explicit about it. When people plunk down a lot of dough for something they don't want to have critics point out discordant elements in the finished work, even (or maybe especially) if the element was their idea. In your situation I can see that that's not going to be a problem. :)