Gimbolo, an abstract artist of contemplative and lyrical oil paintings, was born a fourth generation Italian in Portland, Oregon, on March 29, 1956 and is now 48 years old. The artist is deeply respectful of his Italian heritage and its amazing artistic history of great masters. Gimbolo recalls that at a very early age, his grandfather taught him extensively about Leonardo Da Vinci and the Renaissance masters of art. The young boy had already begun suffering from a degenerative spinal condition causing increasing and constant pain despite surgeries and therapy. When treatment began, Gimbolo was 12 years old and particularly remembers how his mother instructed him to paint and draw as a positive and therapeutic outlet for her son as she worked side by side with him. In his youth, Gimbolo also learned much of the basic techniques of painting as the student of Richard Grove, a well-known regional artist in Jackson County, Oregon.  By the age of 13, he painted his first oil paintings independently while continuing to study from regional artists and art classes all the way through high school. To honor the expectations of his father, he attended the University of S.C. as a law student.  However, his doctors eventually insisted he either accept lower grades rather than driving himself to remain at the top-level of his class or consider alternate vocational opportunities. The idea of continuing to work at something he could not excel at seemed unacceptable to him. It was then that he felt persuaded to return to the arts as a profession that would allow him to work at home, maintain a flexible schedule, and even be a therapeutic outlet.  In 1982, he diligently devoted himself to the study of painting to become a professional artist and practiced his skills daily. By 1991, Gimbolo had his first one man show as a full time professional artist in a small gallery.

Above all, art has always been not only the vocational love and passion of Gimbolo but also even, a spiritual calling.  He firmly believes that artists have the ability to communicate, that which is truly sublime and perhaps verbally inexpressible except through the mystical and creative medium of abstract art.

            After living and traveling abroad for many years, Gimbolo returned to his hometown of Portland, Oregon. Inspired by the abundant natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest, he began painting vivid abstractions equally diverse in beauty and depth of expression. In Portland, Oregon, the artist earned regional, national, and finally international recognition with his inclusion in the most prestigious biographical reference books as Who’s Who in American Art, and Who’s Who in the World.

Unfortunately, on his birthday, March 29^th 2001 Gimbolo, who had been suffering increasing pain and fatigue, was hospitalized. Tests found him to be in advanced stages of Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia. While struggling through chemotherapy and to attain a remission, the stress was made nearly overwhelming with the loss of his wife after 17 years of faithful marriage. Alone now, a period of financial setbacks and great difficulties followed which he endured by focusing even more on developing his unique and personal artistic creations. For the last four years, the artist has been in remission and has been working with resolve to rebuild and stabilize his life.  In 2004, he relocated to Ann Arbor, Michigan until emotionally able to return to Oregon despite all the memories of happiness and such loss. Despite continued pain, Alex Francesco currently remains in remission and continues his passion for art despite the difficult sales market condition of the present economy.