It is a bit difficult working from bad reference photos. So far it looks ok but there are a few things throwing the entire painting off.
I think that the greenery in the background is done well. The water, however, has an odd thing going on with it. Because of where the glare starts and stops, makes it look as if the boys are under water up to their waists.
The denim doesn't have those streaks of light in them which makes it look a bit "pin striped" in a way. Their denim has a very even tone to them.
The face on the left is too angular. The cheek should be more soft and round while the side of the face right of the right eye should be more flat and have fewer highlights.
The boy on the right shouldn't have such a dynamic face since he's more of a baby then the other boy. Babies' faces tend to be very soft and round with most of the dark values being the eyes, nostrils, and mouth. It almost looks as if the young boy has a 5 o'clock shadow or a really good tan.
You should also notice that the size of the boy on the right is much too large in comparison to the boy on the left. If the boy on the right were to stand up, he would be close to the height of the boy on the left, who is obviously older. If you use the barrel as a measuring object you can tell that if the toddler were to stand next to it, the top of the barrel would come mid/lower chest.
I think that with a little work, this piece could be a success.
:: Also, another thing I forgot to mention is the eyes. They are too light. You're not going to really be able to make out the color of the eyes from the way things are set up in the composition. There also won't be that much of a "sparkle" in their eyes either.
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