Blind Petey's Birthday Bash
Blind Petey's Birthday Bash
acrylic on wood panel - 20"H x 24"W
This painting by Hal Mayforth, titled "Blind Petey’s Birthday Bash," is a riotous gathering of eccentric, eyeball-centric characters rendered in his unmistakable cartoon-surrealist style.
Set against a cool, muted blue background, a grid of quirky, bug-eyed figures fills the canvas. Each character has a unique form—some round, some blocky, some striped or fuzzy—and they are all animated with various expressions ranging from joyful to dazed to outright perplexed. Despite their abstract forms, each figure feels like it has a distinct personality, as if they've all come to party… or maybe survive it.
The composition is scattered with cryptic symbols—Zs, Xs, arrows, mathematical signs, and squiggles—adding to the sense of chaos and coded humor. The warm orange, beige, cream, and soft green hues pop vibrantly against the blue, giving the piece a dynamic visual rhythm.
A repeating motif of a single eye—or sometimes none—ties the characters together, emphasizing themes of perception, oddity, and group energy. The orange scalloped pattern at the bottom hints at a crowd or perhaps birthday cake frosting, grounding the title’s playful absurdity.
Altogether, the piece feels like an abstract comic strip from another dimension—an offbeat, joyful, and slightly bewildering celebration of weirdness and individuality.