ON-FIELD ARTISTRY

By John Kmitta

PAINT SELECTION According to Mike, when selecting the right field paint for the job, availability, length of delivery time, quality and correct order are all factors, as is how long the paint needs to last on the grass. He also points out that growth regulators can be added for painting lines; and for application on synthetic turf, a key factor is permanent versus removable.

Said Andy,“ You want to make sure you use paint built for natural grass on natural grass and paint built for synthetic turf on synthetic turf. Beyond that, durability and brightness are two major factors.

“ Removable applications are always a challenge,” he added.“ The majority of my removal events are national broadcasts, so I need the paint to stay on, not re-wet, and get through essentially a week’ s worth of games for either a tournament or bowl game.”

According to Andy, even if his paint of choice is more challenging to remove, he wants to know it is going to look amazing on camera, handle rain events, and not come off on jerseys.

Andy also recommends using low pressure( 300 to 400 psi) on removable applications so material stays on the top of the surface( a tip he credits to Scott from Total Sports Field Solutions).

TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT Andy uses the Disc rolling spray shield from Athletic Field Design( a rolling straight edge) when painting logos.

“ I am also a fan of attaching a 24- to 30-inch-long extension on my gun for logo work,” he added.“ I’ m a huge fan of the shields or guards anytime I’ m walking lines. This provides perfectly crisp lines, but it will make any errors perfectly crisp as well.

“ For the guards, you want the bottom sitting flush with your surface, the gun positioned in the front or middle of the guards so paint doesn’ t escape, paint spray hitting bottom inch of the guards, and guards slightly angled in toward the string,” he added.“ Don’ t hit the string with the guards— stay 1 / 8 to 1 / 4 inch away.”

Mike added that his essential tools include stencils and stencil boards, as well as string measuring devices.

“ I use a PowerPoint slide and group grid lines, copy image to back, convert to size, then usually freehand the image on a tarp cut out— or project, trace and cut out,” he said.

Robotic painters can create the outlines of logos and numbers as well, said Mike.

LOGOS AND DESIGN According to Mike, when working with logos, keep them simple and cut out detailed graphics. However, it can be hard for fans to see highly detailed logos or text in larger venues— such as NFL and college football stadiums, he said. He recommends contrasting colors and outlines to highlight images.

“ About 60 percent of our work is built off of a branding package that the team or event has already developed and we are replicating that on-field,” said Andy.“ What’ s exciting is that remaining 40 percent. Our crew has a great time brainstorming how we are going to bring the

30 SportsField Management | July 2025 sportsfieldmanagementonline. com