Bottles and things by Marjorie Firth

Still a nice piece of work Marjorie, really nice colours and depiction of light through the glass, I would be happy to do that

Sometimes it's better to focus on the main elements and sort out the background later...I'm going to be the only detractor but here goes...unlike many of your still lifes, it lacks focus. I'm squinting at it...no, I don't need specs...and everything is tonally fairly even..objects, background...and whatever they are standing lacks clarity. I would dump the bottle on left and simplify bottom left corner and top right. I've just blocked off left half to leave bottle on right and that works very well. Sorry Ma'am...trying to be helpful.

See what Roger means, everything's blends almost into one, and the 2 plain glass bottles add nothing to the scene, only kidding Marjorie did'nt want Roger to be the lonely grump, know what they say"many a true word said in jest"

And you are...and I knew it was you. The best bit for me is the right hand bottle and reflections and the diagonal tall blue/green bottle. I will simplify when I attack it again ( in oils ) and hope to make it more " ethereal". It's quite a complicated subject, the light is what attracts me, I now need to be selective and cut out certain aspects. So thanks, Malcolm and thanks Roger. Good crit ( and encouragement ) is what we all need.

Gee thanks Andre - only kidding! I'm quite aware that every painting is a struggle/compromise and work is often " in progress". I know where I want to go but it sometimes takes me a while to get there.

The colours in that brown bottle are what caught my eye Marjorie, beautifully depicted.

Softly beautiful, Marjorie. I particularly like the glass.

.. just read Roger's comment. Try putting your hand over the right hand bottle and the clear glass ones will sparkle a little more, but I think we are being picky!!

Lovely pastel - the light twinkling and the glass - well done

Love the light through the glassware Marjorie, wonderful painting.

Hi Marjorie. Thought I'd put my two-penn'worth in for what it's worth! If, as has been suggested by Gudrun, you take away the glass bottle on the right it all becomes a bit samey. A very limited palette. Nothing wrong with that but not what you intended perhaps. I think it needs the bottle on the right. I'm the only one, I expect, to have seen it in 'the flesh' and maybe as 'work in progress'. What I can say is the light you've achieved in this painting is brilliant - don't lose that whatever you do. (Just a thought but what about cropping the image and removing whatever you've accidentally photographed on the right hand edge.) I think that would make a big difference as it interferes with the colours of the flask-shaped bottle.

Your getting so good Marjorie , don't you think there's a marked improvement in your work? I definitely do, this is a cracker well done its so good to see you turning work out of this standard .

Thankyou all for looking and taking time to comment 😍

It will certainly be easier to do this in oils Marjorie and use stronger colours to separate the lights and shadows. You have got a gorgeous reflection of the brown flask with light shining through here and it will be very interesting to see the oil version later.

Love the light shining through the glass and the coloured reflections. Diana

I love the light shining through the brown glass Marjorie - beautifully done

I like this one very much, Marjorie. The brown bottle is wanderful and the reflections are stunnins. Great light.

The bottle on the right is the star in this beautiful painting, its the way the light comes through that bottle that is the magic of this work , that's my view .

This stood out on the gallery page Marjorie. The light is beautiful - I can see what you are trying to achieve and for me you really have caught that ethereal quality.

I do like your passage of light through the painting, Majorie, but I agree with Roger that perhaps you should drop the bottle on the left. However, it's a good foundational piece, all you need is some minor re-composition and I can see a brilliant result round the corner!

I know nothing about compositions for still lifes Marjorie....... you know I'm a beginner in that field. All I see is the beautiful amber bottle with it's reflections and the light flowing through the painting. I didn't even see the two clear glass bottles until I read one of the comments above. I agree with Satu, it will look totally different in oils. Still a great painting Marjorie.

Thankyou so much everyone for giving your opinions - they are the same as mine in that the amber bottle and reflections have worked ok, the rest needs more work and probably a re arrangement of sorts. I can't wait to start it in oil, though with a bit of nervousness and trepidation. But if there weren't any problems to solve, this painting lark would be very boring.

Wow look at those reflections specially from the amber bottle . You give me inspire Marjorie.

For me you have a lovely play of light in this study and I think you gone a long way to working out what direction your painting will take ... Cannot wait to see it 😊