[2] It depicts a drover, an Australian term for a person who moves livestock over long distances, transporting sheep along a road which appears to lead down a gradual incline.

Heysen resided for the majority of his life in this area in the small town of Hahndorf, thus receiving the inspiration for Droving Into the Light and his other works, most of which depict this natural landscape in some way.

[4] Of note in Droving Into the Light specifically is the large river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), which was an afterthought of Heysen's that intended to bring the fine elements of the work together in the later period of its composition: ...

This helped to bind the two sides and made a great improvement, materially enhancing the whole conception.The painting is acclaimed for its use of light and the interaction of the sun with the landscape and the trees which cover the drover and his sheep.

"[1] Heysen's use of oil paints allow for a stark contrast between the light bathing the verdant landscape in the background and the shadowed behinds of the trees facing the sun.

These fissures of light between the shadows of the trees from the bright sun in the distance are what gives the viewer a sense of being on a journey with the drover, his sheep, and sheepdog, creating a "complex play of dynamic compositional elements which rescue it from potential banality" as described by Tracy Lock-Weir for the painting's exhibition in the National Gallery of Australia.

Sailing in Gulf St Vincent off the southern coast of Australia, he reported that Australian light "was like a slap in the face"; profoundly changing his attitude towards art and the vision he had for his future compositions.

[6] Heysen used the Australian outback and the scenes of grand nature near his residence as an escape from the hardships caused by the time, immersing himself in his paintings to distract himself from the threats posed by the war.