Exercise 5 Head and shoulder portrait

exploring the head &
face

For this portrait I decided from the start to try a profile.My sitter was wearing a teal blue shirt and there was a light neutral coloured background, containing a picture and a mirror on the wall, a lamp and a dado rail running from one side to the other. I began with a few sketches in line and tonal sketches.
The first part of the painting was monochromatic black, greys and white - a grisaille underpainting in acrylic to work out the tonal variations. Oils were used for the remainder of the painting.
I used round brushes more than I usually do and found them flexible, the small ones useful for detail. Also a long flat size 8 in the shirt area, but later reverted back to the usual flats, as I just feel more comfortable with them. I put the background elements in to give just a vague suggestion of what's there as I wanted the figure to be more prominent.

1 underpainting

2 

I used a complementary scheme of prussian blue and cadmium red and yellow. The blue colour of the sitter's shirt was roughed in first and was quite quick to do. The colours I used in the first mix for the face and neck  were very yellow. Initially I intended to use an unrealistic skin colour for the skin thinking it would add interest, but changed my opinion when I saw it after application. The fact that it made the model look jaundiced didn't help. I rubbed most of it off with a turpsy rag and instead mixed in more cadmium red approximating something nearer to the model's own colouring, although it was still going to be quite orange. I didn't mind this. Some quite dry brushwork was used around the beard area and it mixed with the still wet colours beneath. I applied the darker medium tones to early  so it wasn't until well advanced with also the light a dark tones on the face that I could reallysee whether the medium tone looked convincing.

3 Initial finished painting

After completing the background in blue/green tones the blue tone of the shirt appeared to isolated so I added some of the background colours with more prussian blue added to help pick up the green tones of the background. I seemed a lot of mixing in this painting. Midtones of the blue/greens from the background and shirt were added to the hair to highlight the light from the window behind me and at the same time show reflected colours - I quite like the way they do this. When I thought I was finished I suddenly noticed dark tones of the ears looked to hard, so softened them with touches of lighter flesh tones after they had dried so as not to pick up the dark paint from underneath. This was a big improvement. The ears were amongst others areas (mouth and eye) I fiddled around with for ages to try and get a convincing representation. As I wasn't happy to stop painting when my time with the sitter had run out, I finished off some of the finer details with the help of  a couple of photos.
 Looking at the painting later  I feel that the beard needs more suggestion of directional growth and a little more volume is needed in the hair over the forehead. Although the face has reflected the light from the window, I think the central part of the cheek could be blended more with surrounding tones and the whole face and neck might benefit from a glaze or two to tone it down. Funnily enough, the sitter seemed to be pleased with the results and said that he thought it was a good likeness.
As my tutor suggested, I could benefit from investigating skin tones further and to examine those of Euan Uglow's figure paintings. Indeed I did look closely at them, but wasn't able to find anything about the palette/s he normally uses. This is quite an old self portrait from 1964:
http://ruthborchard.org.uk/collection/euan-uglow/
So, I took some advice from a more experienced painter I know, especially of portraits, who also suggested using liquin as a glaze
 https://www.flickr.com/photos/reginacarbayo/9365470043/
I went over the skin tones, basing them loosely on Velasquez palette:

 4 After alterations -
photograph lower quality than
the first (above)

black, light red, yellow ochre and white. I had no black so I mixed something approximating black - prussian blue and burnt umber. For the head, facial and neck hair I also used a mix of phthalo green and scarlet lake. I know from what little experience I have, how much time can be wasted by using the wrong colour mixes and tone - it looks so obvious in the skin, if the idea is to obtain something convincing. I soon discovered that to obtain more accuracy I had to play down the tones slightly more than the first mixes. I mixed liquin into the later applications, this was more to help speed up the drying time than anything else. As paint becomes more transparent when liquin is combined with it, so becomes a glaze, I found it had great potential to add quite delicate transparency and  to light skin tones, although in my case I think it was rather crudely handled.
The areas I altered were to further soften the shadow to the ear, and general toning down of skin colour. The beard carefully rendered the beard to soften the transition between the beard and the skin The hair has been painted over the skin around the neck as the skin looked before like it growing over the hair. More hair has been added to the top of the forehead. I used thin wispy strokes all over the head hair to blend in with the extra chunk added to the front of the forehead using a mix of mostly phthalo green and scarlet lake and a small amount of the same was added to the top of the shirt for reflections and shadows. I do think there is an improvement in the skin and hair now, though I can't help thinking of stage make-up when I look at the face.

Exercise 4 Self Portrait

One of the experimental sketches I did
before embarking on the self portrait painting.
This one is done in oils.

On playing around with light, mid tone and dark backgrounds the one with the most contrast and impact was the midtone. This contrasts with the both the shadow side and the light side of my head when I half close my eyes. I did several sketches to prepare for this, they were very experimental - mostly taken from Emily Ball's book.
To make a convincing representation though, I will have to try an follow the next steps in a more formal exacting way than the sketches up to now as this is the impression I get from the brief  - at least to attempt somewhere near accurate proportions and tonal range. So, I tried sketching out certain individual facial features such as the eyes, nose and mouth just to become more familiar with them. It's surprising when  under close scrutiny, how many little nuances I spotted, that would otherwise go unnoticed.
 I decided to base my own palette one that Goya used for portraits, consisting of black, white, an earth red and yellow ochre. I would have like to use Burnt Sienna, but didn't have any so instead mixed cadmium red and burnt umber. The ground is a warm mid tone of cadmium red and burnt umber.
As I was afraid to jump straight in with paint, I started sketching the features in lightly with pencil. As I was doing this I moved away once of twice and had to try and gauge by sight what position my head was in beforehand - this was awkward and it's part of the reason my mouth kept moving around. Then, not before time I suddenly remembered from portraits on my drawing course, that I had put a couple of marks on the mirror and lined them up something on my face. The process was a bit more straightforward after that.
During the process of the painting my appearance changed from
something akin to the mad look of Salvador Dali after I had only the darks filled in, to a much inferior version of a Boticelli.

Self portrait - acrylics

Some of the problems I encountered were: 1. I had to maneouvre all the furniture in my small space to a position where I could hang a fabric behind me for the background. This meant I didn't have a lot of space in front of my easel to stand back and check things from a distance. Instead I moved the painting to where I could do that every now and again.
2. Setting up a mirror: my only other easel is a table easel and though not too big, it was a wall mirror and heavy, so I placed it on the easel on a large box on a table top to obtain the right height.
3. Light: to light one side of the face, I began with natural light, but this kept on changin, so I changed to a combination of artificail and natural light. Because I continued into the evening after the natural light had faded this added to the confusion. I tried to stick to the basic tones I put down at first but it wasn't easy.

Exercise 3 Tonal Figure Study

Natural light for the first two sketches.
1. Conte crayon. This was meant to a very simplified sketch using cylindrical forms. Although I was aware of this from the start somehow I could not resist adding tonal areas whever the opportunity presented itself. The forms looked rounded and cylindrical even prior to adding shadows and I was pleased with the proportions and angles.
2. Pencil. The model's back is too long relative to other areas ie. the head and lower body. The feet were stretched out although I couldn't see any obvious faults in my own interpretation. However, the right foot appears to be an odd shape and does not look like a normal human foot to me.
3. Artificial and natural light from right. Charcoal on green paper. A lot of foreshortening in this one. I like the angle here - interesting. I think the hands look pretty convincing too. But, because I'm not happy with the way I did the hair and face - umm.. it is not a candidate for painting.

1

4. Conte crayon - black. Similar angle to no.1. This is a close second to no.1. I ran out of room for the left foot. Even so the legs look too short and the body too wide. I do like the way the fabric folds on the shorts and the shape of the shadows to the left of the back.

3

The Picasso in the course manual and Mainie Jelett's Seated Nude are similar to what I would aspire to - both in a cubist style. Simplified but semi-abstract appeal.

2

4

Tonal Study - Painting
Under painting muted green
Tried some samples of colours on a test piece with the same green background. Ended up mixing multiple colours and tones from just ultramarine, cadmium red, cadmium yellow and white. During the process I began to realize I should try cut the mixes down a little. I did most of the painting from the sketches (no.s 1 and 4) and a couple of photos. Although the model was quite patient, I didn't want to ask him to keep still for the whole painting aswell (on and off). Applying the paint didn't take a huge amount of time - three to four hours, but I struggled in the early stages with the tones, even though I previously thought I had them worked out. If I had limited the palette a bit more it would have been easier. Interestingly I found the tones easier to blend (so as to soften some edges) after about three hours or so.
Summary On the whole, I am quite pleased with the outcome of this painting.  I find the whole colour combination,  the surrounding elements and space, with the flesh colours and tones, quite appealing despite my struggle with the flesh tones. I like the horizontal movement from lower left to upper right and I think I succeeded with the foreshortening on this occasion. In the main the brushwork appears to have more interesting qualities when compared to most of my other paintings from this part of the course, which all came later..

Tonal study

Exercise 2 Linear figure study

A brush and paints is this time required to do the contours. I have literally zero experience with this type of sketch:
1. On a green mid toned ground of raw and raw sienna. The results reflect my lack of skill here. The brow lines lack fluidity and my attempt to add creases in the model's shorts are totally unconvincing. I wasn't at all happy to leave it with just one study, so practised with a few more, this time with a sumi brush and burnt umber and ultramarine acrylic. An idea gleaned from the same book - Expressive Figure Drawing by Bill Buchman - this is full of great ideas for figure drawing. Some of them remind me of Matisse's flowing lines he used in figures. I thought they looked simple but how totally underestimated how difficult it would be! An initial standing pose from the book didn't seem too challenging but but this changed when it was applied to my own figure sketches: The lying down pose from the side again didn't work well so I attempted no.2 with the head furthest away - think there was an improvement there.
The lines still don't flow as well as I would like. I added a wash to some areas for more impact and interest. I think it has had the desired effect.

1 Looking at Faces - Research point 1

Lucien Freud

 John Minton by Lucien Freud,  1952
40cm x 25.4 cm, oil on canvas,
Royal College of Art, London 

It is interesting to observe how Freud's painting method changed over time, as did Rembrandt's (see below),  from smooth almost translucent finish (as in the portrait (right) of John Minton) to the  thick, sculptural impastos of his later work. Though Freud built up some surfaces materialising in a more gritty almost rocky quality, maybe he did more scraping off and re-building with the paint. 
The painting to the right is a typical example  of Freud's earlier painting style. The brushwork looks smooth and refined with very fine detail, emitting an overall soft, translucent quality. The green in the top and grey from the background are reflected in the face. The sitter’s expression is sad and mournful, perhaps yearning .The head is tilted down slightly to one side. The eyes appear glassy, even tearful – as though he could have lost a sixpence and found a penny. Fine grey wisps of head and eyebrow hair are indicated in profusion with fine brush strokes.

John Minton Self Portrait,
c. 1953 Oil on canvas, 35.6 x 25.4 cm
National Portrait Gallery, London

Minton Self portrait the expression is again sad looking and the head downcast. The application on the face is relatively smooth - finely outlined contours of feature in pinkish and ochre tones, colours reflected from the background. The face is thin and angular. The long narrow proportions of the picture format echo the mood and proportions of the sitter. Only the upper torso is visible. The top appears to have been painted quickly and spontaneously. White painted scumbled over dark red underpainting quite roughly. The shirt collar and other outlines completed in both dark and light paint. In contrast with the textured unfinished looking appearance of the clothing the background is very, smooth, refined and neutral.

 Lucien Freud – Self portrait 1985. Head and shoulders. As with all Freud’s self portraits there is a confident and determined and intense expression. It is meticulously painted. Freud had a way of painting the skin in intricate detail as if he was looking under the skin, not just the surface.  This is a good example of this mature style - thick impasto paint has been applied to the face and has an undulating almost rocky appearance compared to the smooth background. The head appears to be lit from above as the left side of the face is in shadow. The neck and the left upper torso are shaded by the face. Because the background in nondescript, it bring the face into focus. The whites of the eyes look dull as they are also in shadow. He appears to be looking away even though it is a self portrait.
http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/lucian-freud/reflection-self-portrait-1985
Other (later) self portraits in various techniques:
http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/lucian-freud/interior-with-hand-mirror-self-portrait
http://uploads5.wikipaintings.org/images/lucian-freud/self-portrait.jpg

Francis Bacon by Lucien Freud this is painted in a similar fashion to John Minton's portrait.

Freud by Francis Bacon and Bacon Self Portrait Bacon did several portraits of his friend and contemporary. If some of Freud's work looks slightly unsettling, Bacon takes things to another level: Bacon's portraits contain tortured distorted images, features removed in places and exagerated in others. The whole head is contorted as if inner torment is made visible on the outside. In 'Three Studies for Portrait Lucien Freud' 1964 could be, for instance, describing various forms of mental torment, perhaps three stages of a  breakdown,  a migraine or a shift in personality.
On this link there are numerous portraits of Lucian Freud by Francis Bacon and a couple of Bacon by Freud http://www.ananasamiami.com/2011/06/francis-bacon-lucian-freud.html

This one links up to another page on the same blog featuring portraits of various sitters by Freud
http://www.ananasamiami.com/search/label/Lucian%20Freud

Leon Kossoff Self Portrait c1952
Very intense looking  caused by such a closed in view.  Yet the face appears quite anonymous maybe due to the  quite generalised looking facial features. Very thick paint, possibly smeared on in places. The combination of dark tones with acrid yellows under splashes of dull red seem to result in a sickly looking, perhaps troubled mood. A dramatic effect overall,  which I find quite mesmerising.
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/self-portrait-looking-up-78681
Leon Kossoff by Frank Auerbach c1951:http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/auerbach-portrait-of-leon-kossoff-l02669
This one has a similar atmosphere to the self portrait (above) in that the colour and tonal balance is very similar and the features generalized. The face is lit from the left but the background appears to be in darkness. Although the head here is again in close up it doesn't possess the intensity of Kossoff's. This must be due to the fact that the sitter's gaze is this time directed downwards and not at the viewer, looking rather brooding and introspective. The paint is also applied thickly but more smoothly and the overall effect is comparitvely calm.

Derain Self Portrait in Studio c 1903

Andre Derain, Self Portrait in Studio c. 1903

Oil on canvas, 422 x 346mm (16 5/8 x 13 5/8") 

National Gallery of Australia. 

Sydney only

The depicts himself in the act of painting, even caught in the act. The brushwork is very free and executed in a simplified way. Complementary colours of blue and orange are used widely. It is almost abstract in nature.
Derain has placed himself over to one side and in the background of the other side, a quite detailed cabinet and articles positioned above it. Everything looks well balanced - complementary colours, the shapes, sizes and directions of elements.  His pose is slightly tilted to the top left corner and the direction of line created by the edges of the furniture and walls behind in a diagonal flow from the lower left to top right. His dark suit and colourful palette are counterbalanced by the position of the small dark articles at the top right and the large cabinet on the right. The paint appears to have been applied more flatly than in his portrait by Matisse (below). As in Matisse's portrait though, Derain uses juxtaposed complementaries extensively, but in slight contrast, here, dark muted browns and blues are also used. It looks as though the orange and blue have been muted by the addition of a brown or by their respective complementary ie. orange to blue and blue to orange.
After 1905 , Derain began to use saturated colours influenced by the strong light and by Matisse,  while on holiday with him in the South of France.

Portrait of Andre Derain by Henri Matisse:

Andre Derain by Henri Matisse c. 1905, 

Oil on canvas, 394 x 289 mm, 

Tate Gallery, London

Looking at  the way the brushmarks and colour have been applied, this is to me so typically Fauvist. Two sets of complementaries are used - red against green on one side  and  blue next to orange on the other. Because the cool blue and greens are located in the background the warm colours in the head are brought into focus. The paint, thickly applied on the face, looks as though a brush loaded with paint of more than one colour was used ie. red and yellow. Other areas seem to be painted loosely  and the artist's top, with simple long strokes. The white of the background shows through in places helping I think, to bring sparkle and balance to the composition. Positioning of the upper torso to the left with the head tilted to the right also contribute to the balanced effect.

http://uploads4.wikipaintings.org/images/suzanne-valadon/self-portrait-1883.jpg

Rembrandt and his studio
His paintings are so often suffused in a delicate haze, giving a gentle quality to his subjects. In the later paintings the surface of the flesh and clothing look much more solid and three dimensional.

Rembrandt self portrait c1628-29
oil on oak panel
22.6 x 18.7 cm
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

Jan Lievens portrait
of Rembrandt  van Rijn c1629
oil on panel, 
57 x 44.7 cm
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

It is interesting to see the way other artists from Rembrandt's workshop have portrayed him: in both portraits the finer details aren't as pronounced as in Rembrandt's own versions. They are on the whole, softer looking and, I think, kinder to the man than he has been to himself. Considering the later portraits were done around a similar time, Rembrandt has portrayed himself as much older looking: he looks an old man - his face is very life worn, yet alert and cheerful, but he has a marked stoop. In the other portrait he is much more upright, his face looks younger and quite astute.

Rembrandt by Studio of Rembrandt c1660-69
oil on canvas 76.5 x 61.6 cm
National Gallery of Victoria,
Melbourne, Australia

Rembrandt self portrait c1662
oil on canvas, 82.5 × 65 cm 
Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum.

Exhibition Sean Keating: Contemporary Contexts, Crawford Gallery, Cork

This exhibition was shown in a current climate of economic hardship and emigration, drawing close similarities with social circumstances at the time. Sean Keating made his own later work, post  War of Independence, which was often critical of the governing classes.
The purpose of the exhibition was to re-examine Sean Keating's  longstanding reputation as a political reactionary with strong nationalist beliefs, and attempts to challenge this. It tries to convey that he was infact an astute history painter, during a turbulent time in national politics.   Almost always present was his concern for narrative, which was often subversive and controversial. Much of his work was intended to document the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War which followed. His work, portraying heroic illustrations of hard working people of the Arran Islands or of defiant men and women during troubled times, full of symbolism,   yet also depicting disillusionment. 
Some would say his paintings gave an idealized view of Ireland. Typical examples of these are 'Men of the South' 1921-22. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Keating,_Men_of_the_South.jpg
This shows a subversive theme depicting men of bravado and defiance, in contrast with another painted in 1924 'On the Run, War of Independence'  show three isolated looking fighters, The atmosphere is one of boredom, apart from the centre figure who looks brooding and pensive  -  unsurprisingly, he could have had a lot on his mind, not to mention  that he is probably on the lookout, while the other two take a break. Unfortunately I have been unable to locate an image of this painting online, so cannot include a link to it.

'An Allegory'  It is intended to be a metaphor related to the madness of the Irish Civil War. The adult figures seem to be in isolation from one another. In the background is an abandoned looking 18th century house, this could be a metaphor for the state of the country.  The men digging the grave are disconnected, one, with his cap pushed back on the head, is wearing a uniform of the Free State National Army. The other in more casual dress of the opposing side, the Irregular Army. A mother and child are symbolic of the damage and suffering of innocents. Though some of the figures are static, the scene seems to be full of energy. Obviously the moving figures make a big contribution but even if I put my hand over that part of the scene, it doesn't lose it completely. I think it's because the other figures and the texture on the tree trunk have an energy of their own, as they are so sensitively depicted, they appear to be almost moving themselves. 
http://www.crawfordartgallery.ie/Sean_Keating_Resource_Pack.html
For several decades, Keating continued to make work reflecting his disillusionment and frustration at the socio-political and economic conditions of the times. 

'Strikers' 1958 and a contemporary Michael Kane's 'Political Speech, Chief Excecutive' 1959, critiques such as 'Ulysses in Connemara' 1947 and 'Economic Pressure and a Bold Peasant being Destroyed' 1948 are particularly  sad indictments of the socio-economic conditions which had only worsened since the foundation of the State. In contrast to the more hopeful themes of his earlier depictions of life in the Arran Islands, his annoyance is evident here at the situation which brought about so much emigration from the West of Ireland.
This theme has great significance today against a background once again of economic hardship and emigration throughout Ireland.
All of Keatings works were displayed in  a contemporary setting and many of the largest paintings situated in a huge lofty rectangular room with old brick walls. The traditionalist nature of the paintings and the ornate frames around them didn't seem to me to sit comfortably with the surroundings. Yet, the large shape and size of the space set them of to good advantage. I couldn't fault the lighting. 
What I noticed about the way Keating paints was how he has portrayed the  figures with great accuracy, while at the same time the brush marks are often quite noticeable, and are very free and fluid. In this way he manages to convey a great depth of feeling, brought about by the characters and their environment. They are full of life and movement.

This collection  was shown in the context of the work of some of his contemporaries, many of whose work  is abstract and highlights the very different approach to respond to the same issues at one time or another.

The Second World War provoked different ways of expression. Two of several works on display are described here: Ralph Cusack's response to the socio economic conditions of the time are depicted in 'The Way of the World' 1945 - a ruined structure, dead trees and an empty boat floating on the water under a dark glowing red/blue angry sky.giving off an all pervading sense of post apocalyptic surreal world, ghostly and empty looking. 
http://imma.gallery-access.com/intl/en/tour.php?a_id=274

Norah McGuiness 'Rivers to the Sea'. 
Very colourful  semi-abstract composition consisting of  contrasting blues and oranges. There is a lone worker in the field and a small cottage behind. Mountains fields and water are split into geometric shapes, with the zig zag of a blue river running through the centre. It would have been a familiar Irish rural scene, with a new twist and is reminiscent of stained glass. Unfortunately I haven't been able to obtain an image of this painting.

Assignment 2

Instructions: to demonstrate an understanding of colour, tone, composition and the development of technique in the chosen medium. Two choices available:1. to set up a still life in the corner of a room or table - somewhere giving a surrounding context - this being my own choice. My medium of choice: acrylics.
I often find the organic forms of fruit and vegetables fascinating, but any I've drawn or painted up to now  haven't quite materialised the way I would have liked, so I decided this was an ideal opportunity to have another go.
I thought back to the brief for the still life with natural objects and where the suggestion was made of peppers being an excellent subject. Partly because of this, I put them to the top of the list and because having drawn peppers before, i find they have so many interesting facets. A bunch of scallions, leeks and a lemon found their way in as well and seemed to complement one another well in so many ways, in the following arrangements:

painting part finished

I tried a few variations in the arrangement before embarking on the first (rough) sketch which focuses in on a relatively small area, where most of the detail is contained. I decided against this view, as part of the brief asks to place them within a surrounding context and I don't think it was fitting with that. To some extent  I seem to have got into the same habit with several previous still life compositions, looking back at them now  - it was time for a change. Opening up the view, making use of a larger view of the surroundings was taking me out of my comfort zone as I hadn't been accustomed to doing this. I transferred the arrangement to an island worktop in the kitchen, rather than in front of a cupboard door as with the previous arrangement. Now it was placed in the right context (a kitchen) with a view beyond to the work surfaces and objects in the background. In the second sketch I depicted this as basic shapes and angles and simplified the view with generalised variations in tone. When I stood back to check the sketch I liked the combination of relatively geometric planes and angles of the hard surfaces with the organic shapes of the vegetables.
It was helpful browsing through some of Cezanne's still lifes, as I noticed some had a visible background but they weren't depicted an a literal way, bringing most of the spotlight  on the main subject.In my own I think  the perspective of the background angles also gives a look of spatial recession.
The initial layers of paint were practically scrubbed on thin and dry. They seemed to be sinking into the canvas as I was painting. This I concluded was most likely due my not having applied sufficient gesso. The scrubbing technique emanated partly because I was wary of using too much opaque paint, especially in the early stages, as I didn't want to obliterate the tinted ground completely.

The lemon and pepper were relatively easy to do, particularly with the medium toned background beneath. The shadows and highlights were also quite plain sailing, as I had positioned dark and light paint beneath them before going over with semi opaque paint, so there was a luminous glow under the highlights and beneath the shadows.  This was not the case with the onion heads which too much longer to build up. Looking at them now I would say too much attention is focused on the central area - not really desirable in my estimation.
I think I went a bit overboard with additional shadows (violet transparent paint) on the lemon.
On all the objects I included the complementary of the main colour in the shadows and a touch of its main colour reflected onto the body of adjacent objects and their cast shadows, such as green and red in the cast shadows of the leek to the left. These appeared to work out quite well.
During the next session I had further trouble with the onion heads and spent a lot of time trying to get them to look convincing without chalkiness. I tried fairly dry paint on the brush in mauves (or violets) and greens but the result was lacking in substance. I also didn't  like the grain of the canvas showing through, this seemed to undermine the finish of them and the rest of the composition. I then tried thick paint in two tones, but the result was flat and chalky. Next I mixed some acrylic gloss gel medium with raw sienna and lemon yellow and used this as a glaze. With this I succeeded in removing the chalkiness and it also gave some variation and a slight finishing touch to parts of the lemon and leek. I added further touches to sections of the background. The appearance of depth towards this space behind the arrangement looked too separated,  so the addition of  yellow and raw sienna helped to connect it with the rest of the composition.
I did consider using cards to paint at least in part, but lost my courage. Perhaps I will try them for another similar subject. I know the effect will be completely different from a painting done with brushes.
Unfortunately I overlooked my tutor's suggestion on this occasion of trying to mix a palette from a painting that I aspire to, but it  sounds well worth doing, so I will try to do that at the next opportunity.

A cut off portion of some colour tests
and studies. I later discovered
there was a problem with the computer/scanner, hence
the other two images didn't materialise

Later adjustments

Following suggestions from my tutor I:
sharpened the angle of the chopping board making it more acute (bottom right),
altered the lemons' surface, the surface of chopping board and
darkened the background.

Finished for now? - this photo isn't as clear as the one above,
it looks more faded out.

I prefer the angle of the chopping board now, it seems to have the effect of causing the nearest corner to project outwards from the picture plane; dark shadows added underneath help to accentuate the angle further, balancing up the dark space in the background. I added more contrasts to the surface of the board which brings more focus to the area. These elements in combination have effect of throwing the arrangement into dramatic focus adding dimension and depth, whereas the whole area underneath the arrangement previously looked rather wishy washy. 
I added touches of tube consistency System 3 acrylic to the body of the lemon (cadmium yellow/white) without much blending to help give more texture. I would have liked to bring this out more but was afraid it may look out of place against other parts of the arrangement; in the sense that the paint would have a different finish.

Completed version after adjustments

I scrubbed on and glazed paint in the background, - ultramarine, sap green,  phthalo green, alizarin crimson and raw umber mixes - plus white - added to a strong black band down the centre acting as a distraction. I left hints of the existing warmer greens visible in part of the background as they seem to pick up the similar greens in other parts of the composition.