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Hi Ilaria
Good luck and good for you for determining to get the portrait back and re-work it.
I so agree its so important to avoid having a nagging knowledge you have put a "bad" work out there, for your own peace of mind and for the fact that (if it really is) a bad piece then it sits there being bad publicity for you for a very long time!
Actually I wanted to say that a similar thing happened to me with a 4 year old sitter a couple of years ago, he sat (hating to sit still of course) for 3 hours everyweek for 6 weeks, me causing upheaval in the families beautiful home - and at the end of it all I knew I hadn't got a decent painting - all his life had gone, his mannerism and posture had become leaden and stilted and I hated it.
I was so frustrated that it hadn't worked and so torn about how to deal with this "failure" especially as I had taken so much of the families time and patience and they were calling for the piece to be finished already!!
But in the end I came clean (after avoiding the phone a couple of times!!) admitted I wasnt happy and that I knew I could give them the piece as it was but that it wouldn't be the best I could do for them.
I asked for the little boy to come to my studio this time and I tried a completely different pose and lighting set up, I went with my instinct about how I wanted to represent him, this time choosing a more intense focus, darker more dramatic, his pose was much more natural and typical of him and his clothing more personal. That resulting painting went very quickly indeed and the client and I agreed was far, far better as a result.
I hope it works out even better for you this time, I think there was a lot to admire about the first piece you posted here but I might say he is getting somewhat lost in amongst that big white shirt and embossed wall paper.
Very best wishes...
Mary Jane
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