Happy Hour – Oliver Jeffers

Oliver Jeffers is an NYC based visual artist whose primary medium is illustration, collage and sculpture. He is author to many successful picture books, and his work is well received both physically and over his various social media accounts, such as his Instagram.

The above image, titled Happy Hour, was published on July 25th, 2019.  I am a big fan of this painting. I like the mood, the shading and style of the picture., However,  I think the use of lighting and how it operates within the world of the image is really detailed, with lots to describe.

The painting is set during what I would consider dusk. There is a slight glow dimming behind the mounds of dirt and grass of the landscape. The lighting is soft, with no hard shadows anywhere. This could either be the sun, or light sources from the place that has the happy hour.

The overall place is quite dark. This might be because the whole place is shadowed by the light source, meaning that the lighting is quite hard. However, I believe this is just because the light is not hitting the surface at all.

The text of the happy hour sign is lit by neon lights, giving off a slight glow in the dark sky. These lights do not affect much if any of the environment around it, besides the lit letters themselves. The structure the neon letter are held up by do not receive any residual glow from the letters.