Painting presidents a stroke at a time

MIAMISBURG, Ohio (WDTN) - Summer vacation is winding down for students and in one district, children will return to an old school made new again.

For Scott Hannig, it is his brush with history. "I just hope it opens the doors like it did for me back in kindergarten," said Hannig.

With each pencil outline he retraces an era, while every brush stroke fills in the gaps. What you're left with is a portrait of America and the men who helped paint it.

"There's certain things you can find you like about each and everyone of them."

They're all up there, all 44 of them.  Grover Cleveland is up there twice, of course. They're the Presidents of the United States and Scott is back for his second term of painting them. "When they asked me to redo it I was very excited to come back and do it."

Scott painted his first Presidents when his son was in school here at Kinder Elementary in Miamisburg. Clinton was the last portrait then.

Two president's later Kinder had to be renovated and the President's were impeached by the construction. So, with the school reopening in August, Scott was re-elected so to speak.

"We wanted to keep the original values of Kinder because it holds a lot of community value," said Scott Gilbert, Business Services, Miamisburg Schools.

Everyone has their favorite chief to hail, but some might surprise you. Like the girl who picked Zachary Taylor.

"There was a apparently a boy band Hanson and one of the guys was named Zachary and the other Taylor so therefore, that was her favorite President."

It seems pop stars and Presidents share more than just popularity.

"I like the hair styles. William Henry Harrison is wearing the Bieber.  He combs his hair forward or you have the mullet of Polk, the sideburns of some of these guys."

Ask Scott which is his favorite to draw and there's no debate. "Teddy Roosevelt. Teddy Roosevelt without a doubt. He's the first on the wall to really have personality."

The portraits offer a look at the men who have led our nation through the years, but you certainly can't paint them all with a broad brush.   Each picture tells a different story.

"If you go little by little nothing changes, but if you go by the big picture it's changed quite a bit from Washington to now.