Lilion T. Thomas (born October 9, 1904 in Calvert, Texas; died 1995 in Abilene, Texas) was an American pastor and self-taught artist. He began drawing portraits in the 1940s while working as a pastor at Mt. B Zion Baptist Church in Kerens, Texas. He was given the nickname "Thunderbolt" due to his hellfire-preaching sermons. In the 1960s he became pastor at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church in Abilene, Texas where he continued his artistic practice. His art would feature famous outlaws such as Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. He used different materials to create portraits and figures in profile.
Selected exhibitions
Spirited Journeys: Self-Taught Texas Artists of the Twentieth Century, August 29 – October 19, 1997
Selected permanent collections
Collection de L'art Brut, Lausanne, Switzerland
References
Further reading Contemporary American Folk Art: A Collector's guide by Chuck and Jan Rosenak, Abbeville Press, 1996 American Self-taught Art: An Illustrated Analysis of 20th century Artists and Trends with 1,319 capsule biographies by Florence Laffal and Julius Laffal, 2003