Thalo Halo

It’s a long never-ending road to find your voice. He has been in search of it his entire life.
Lou Gabriel A. K. A. Thalo Halo has been an artist in one form or another for almost 30 years. Born 1966
in Illinois, he grew up in a blue-collar hardworking household that did not include art.
His only exposure to the art world was the graffiti covered walls and train cars. The only books on art in
his school library was of the old masters, and that type of art never spoke to him. Breaking the family
chain of coal miners and construction workers, he went to art school in Florida. That was the birth of his
art journey. He graduated from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in 1986.
Gabriel’s mediums are acrylic, spray paint and charcoal on canvas. His work can best be described as
street art that you can hang on your walls. His work has mostly been portraits, but he doesn’t describe
himself as a portrait painter. He uses the people to convey his feeling about a subject. Bright colors and
his love of text are part of his signature.
“I don’t paint to sell paintings. I paint to express my ideas. People buy my ideas, and they get the painting
for free”