I'd like to add something to the last comment. In my view part of the "too perfect" look comes from a too uniform treatment of edges. This jumps out at me because it is an issue that I am working on myself in trying to learn.
Try finding some edges that are soft and blend into the background and some that are more crisp and defined. For examples, look at some great master paintings where this is skillfully done. Here is one example that comes to mind by Sargent. (
http://www.mfa.org/collections/searc...0&coll_start=1) Look especially at the little girl seated on the rug in the foreground. Notice how parts of the figure merges with the background and how others cut a distinct edge.
I also felt that the golden brown that you used was too unrelenting. It is a beautiful color, but needed a bit of relief. Again looking at the Sargent, he also uses a lot of brown ochre in the background of this painting but balances it with cool greys and subdued rust colors so that the whole spectrum of color is represented but in a subdued and quiet way. You have begun to do this when you added a bit of color to the boys mouth which I think greatly improved the color balance. With a little more tweaking in these directions I think your painting could be quite stunning.
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