Truby Abbott, who became the pastor of the former Church of Christ and Christian Union Church in Hillsboro in 1963, was a gifted painter who is said to have gained his artistic talent spiritually.

Abbott was born in Blue Creek, Ohio and passed away in 1984.

As a young man in his twenties, Abbott was gifted an oil paint set from his mother for Christmas because he had always pictured himself painting before audiences, but when he first tried to paint, he couldn’t do it.

“He said he just bowed his head there at a writing desk that they had, and he told the Lord that if he would give him the gift to paint that he would use it for his glory,” said Randy Abbott, Truby’s son. “From that time on, he started painting and people started buying his pictures.”

In addition to painting framed pictures, Truby Abbott painted many murals. He painted a mural of Jesus walking off a dirt trail walking toward the pulpit in his Hillsboro church at 508 N. West St.

“I think he painted the mural in a day because he would never let anything dry,” said Randy Abbott.

The mural will be lost soon because the old church is scheduled to be demolished and the painting was made on an interior wall.

“He’s got them in I think about every state in the United States, and I forget how many countries that he’s got pictures in,” said Randy Abbott.

Randy Abbott said his father was always faithful to his promise and never promoted or advertised his art.

“He would make a custom frame and paint before an audience,” said Randy Abbott. “He was a minister, so he would go and preach and then he would paint on a canvass of 18 by 36 inches in front of a live audience along with a message. He would preach and then paint a picture about the message in about 17 to 22 minutes.”

Abbott said he wishes he was able to save the painting of Jesus at the church. “We would like to preserve it, but it’s on plaster, and it’s on the end wall,” he said.

Reach John Hackley at 937-402-2571.