Who says it's a owl in the first place.
Okay smart guy, then how is it carrying the little man in the fourth panel? With its smooth, diet pill like body?
If I were the artist, I'd just dump the entire lower outline, keeping only the highlights on the head and wings, leaving a huge dark abyss. For this kind of mood, you don't ever want to show full shapes. The darkness left by the lack of definition - the negative space of the clouds - is all you need to define the not-owl, and hey, you don't have to draw any feet then...
Also I am pretty sure the colours are chosen to set the mood rather than be realistic. When the colours are swapped (i tried it) the impact is way less that how it is atm. I think this works well from a storytelling point of view.
I didn't say to change the colors. I said to change the words. The mood is fine. The technical details need some help.
It's orange because of the city lights...
No it's not. In the right side, the little man is climbing a staircase to an orange sky highlighting the trees (or mountains)... but I guess there could be a Walmart on the other side or something... An orange Walmart...
Look, if you really like it and want to see it improve, you can't just come up with excuses for its flaws. This artist deserves better than that. Point out the mistakes so that he can fix them, and so he won't make them again.