Barn Stormer

Belmont County artist Scott Hagan talks barn painting.

You might not know Scott Hagan by name, but if you’ve spent any amount of time in Ohio, you’ve likely seen the artist’s work. He painted the state’s 88 Bicentennial Barn murals — one in every Ohio county — between 1998 and 2003. Hagan fills us in on what it was like to paint all those barns.

Q What did you learn about Ohio by painting all those barns?

A Ohio is so vast. From one end to the other, it’s almost like different countries in some ways. People have different accents. Even the barns are different. I was 19 when I started that. I hadn’t even been out of Belmont County that much. It’s really fun to look back.

Q What do you like about painting on large canvases like barns?

A The scale at times can be kind of daunting. You can work a long time on one area, and you look left and right and up and down, and there’s still a lot to do. But when you’re outside and the weather’s right, it’s just nice to be out there and work and listen to nature.