ON-FIELD ARTISTRY
All photos on pages 30-31 courtesy of Andy Hebrard craziest and most professional visuals to the client within timeline and budget.”
He added that special projects often take more time, so shortcuts on layout and getting where you need to go are key.
“ There are a lot of times when we are editing in real time,” said Andy.“ For a recent event in Dallas for OT7, the stencil came in slightly smaller than the massive inlaid logo. I saw that the event branding had the‘ rubble football’ logo everywhere instead of the one with clean edges we were supposed to paint. We had the freedom with the rubble style to expand the edges and cover the last foot of inlay. That is an example of a situation where we had exactly what we were supposed to paint but needed a real-time edit in the field.”
According to Andy, there is always an answer to potential problems, and the more experience you have, the easier the answer is to find.
Said Andy,“ An umpire once told my father,‘ Mike, no one comes to the game to see what you painted.’ Harsh, but true— the show will go on.”
BEST PRACTICES“ I have painted on dirt, mud, asphalt, cement, synthetic and grass,” said Mike, who added that a good canvas is key to a good paint job. As such, he recommends a clean mow with no debris and no dust.
“ Try to apply paint when the surface is dry, or blow off moisture; check the weather for rain, wind and heat; and be aware of the mowing schedule, band practice, etc.,” he said.“ Also, paint applied when sun goes down will not dry until sun is back out.”
Andy added that the height of cut of grass will determine tip size and height of spray above surface.
“ Give yourself at least 10 to 15 feet on any obstruction that can cause injury,” he said.“ Use yellow striping tips for lines and
sportsfieldmanagementonline. com July 2025 | SportsField Management
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