A multicolored 'HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL' message is set in three centered rows of bold, blocky, hand-rendered letters with soft rounded edges. The palette runs through terracotta red, mustard yellow, sage green, dusty coral, periwinkle blue, deep teal, forest green and muted lavender, all on a textured off-white ground inside a thin gold metallic frame.

Each letter is built from ribbed, sculpted ridges of impasto paint with visible palette-knife or brush tracks, rising off the canvas in strong tactile relief. Soft light from several directions casts tiny shadows along the ridges, over a matte, fine-grid woven linen background.