Photo Provided SCOTT HAGAN is working on murals inside the Belmont Career Center in St. Clairsville that represent the students’ home schools.

By SHELLEY HANSON

Times Leader Staff Writer

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — It appears Scott Hagan has no shortage of work when it comes to his craft of painting murals on barns and other structures across the country — but he’s not stopping there.

Hagan has painted a variety of signage, murals of all types and more across Ohio and 18 other states for the past 23 years. Lately, the “barn artist” also has been commissioned to do indoor work in several local schools’ gymnasiums and hallways.

He noted that painting on a large scale is a challenge whether it is a gym wall or the side of a barn.

“Blank walls, they need fixed,” Hagan said, referring to walls inside schools that he uses as his canvas. “The gyms seem to be taking off. The more games that are played, the more people see it. It’s fun. I really enjoy it. … It’s a cushy job in a sense, because you don’t have to worry about rain or wind or snow. There are different challenges to both.”

Hagan said he has been doing murals and logos at schools for about the past three years.

One of his favorites is at his alma mater, Beallsville High School. He painted the roof of the fieldhouse that can be seen while driving toward the school property.

“At Beallsville, the roof, what is special about that is that I didn’t want to do that — painting on a roof is 10 times harder. But when you come around the turn there on the main road, it hits you right in the face. It had to be done,” Hagan said.

He continues to enjoy transforming schools.

“You’re taking something boring and making it more interesting,” he said.

Hagan currently is doing a mural inside the Belmont Career Center in St. Clairsville. There he has incorporated the logos of all the different schools the students hail from into large murals.

Career center Principal Ryan Caldwell readily described Hagan’s work as “amazing.”

“When it comes to any big art, Scott has been doing it for years and his reputation is wonderful. He always creates images that are unique and fit the needs of the school,” Caldwell said.

Caldwell said Hagan also painted logos representing the different trades taught outside of each lab at the school as well. He said Hagan’s work has provided a new sense of pride for the students, resulting in a change of culture as well.

“It’s pretty cool what a little paint can do,” Caldwell said.

Hagan said it was God’s work that led him to become the artist he is today. He is happy that he can make a living doing something he enjoys.

“In some of these gyms you are really changing how they look. In most of these towns the biggest building is the school and gym. It is the biggest showcase of that town. Like in Beallsville, that’s the Taj Mahal of that town,” he said.

Hagan said on average a mural — done on a barn or school — can take as few as two or three days to finish or as long as seven to 10 days if it is more expansive. He employs a variety of different methods to create the murals — grids, projectors or, in the case of the 88 Ohio Bicentennial barn paintings, freehand.

At some schools, walls will need base coats before a mural can be put up — not only to make the mural last longer, but to improve the look of the entire room. Some older gyms, he noted, have not been painted for several decades until he is commissioned. Hagan said he always uses a high-quality latex paint. Depending on the job, he can use anywhere from 15 to 20 gallons of paint for a mural.

Most of the work is done via brush, though he occasionally uses a sprayer.

Hagan, 43, and his wife Amanda reside in Jerusalem where they live with their two children, Jayda, 15, and Shelby, 13. Both of his daughters are artists in their own right, though each enjoys creating different types of art. He said both of his daughters usually travel with him to at least one job each summer. He said someday they may begin to help him with the work.

For now, Hagan said he paints solo, though he has hired people to help with general painting of a gymnasium to make the work go faster.

The mural itself, however, still is always done by him alone.

Hagan said trying to determine which is his favorite work is almost like someone asking, “Which kid do you like better?”

But the job that stands out in his mind is his work on the Bob Evans Farm. It was a military tribute-theme and included purple camouflage, logos for all the military branches and a logo for the Gary Sinise Foundation.

“It was a big deal. … I liked the overall look,” he said.

In addition to the career center and Beallsville, some of the schools Hagan has done work in include Harrison Central, John Marshall, Valley, Barnesville, Buckeye Trail, Meadowbook, Skyvue Grade School, Cameron, Monroe Central, Powhatan, Woodsfield, Newcomerstown and Bridgeport. He also did work at Christian Academy in South Carolina.