what's wrong with it

[bobby]

Hey everyone!
I'm struggling for days with this illustration. Something in the colors doesn't seems right to me but I can't figure what exactly. I made it black and white and yeah,there are many places that have no contrast and blend badly but I just don't know how to fix them.  
So to sum up - help!

[dangelowallaceart]

I could be wrong, but I think possibly a large part of the issue is that the bucket of food is just as saturated as the children, even though it's out of focus and not the primary target of the painting. It draws my eye sharply away from the expressions on the faces, which seems to be the true focal point of the drawing. Maybe if you toned down on the brightness and saturation (like you did for the background) then the image might work better for you.

I hope this helps. Color is something I really struggle with too, and I find that more often than not my issues come when I'm using colors that are too, too bright and saturated.