[uplifting string music] - Color drives me crazy.

I love color.

I love contrast.

I love saturation.

I love to control it.

I like to create the art and say, "Now, how did he come up with that?

Wow."

If it doesn't move you like that, I have no interest.

The best advice that I can give to a artist or somebody who wants to be artist full-time, invest in space.

[uplifting string music continues] Invest in space.

A artist's space is everything.

As long as you are painting inside of your bedroom or your kitchen, you gonna hate it.

It's hard to try new things in a small apartment, because you're not giving yourself space to grow.

When I came to Burlington, I got room to make a mess trying things.

Acrylic, watercolor, ink, styrofoam, paper mache, clay, wood, charcoal, aerosol, all of it.

I see it.

I go for it.

I love it.

[laughs] I love it.

My name is Artie Barksdale III.

I am a freelance artist and I reside in Burlington, North Carolina.

[gentle piano music] Burlington is one of those cities that you can make a name for yourself.

It's kinda funny, because people don't understand, say, "There's nothing going on in Burlington."

To them, it's a dead place, but to me, it's a blank canvas.

Now, my plan for this entire strip is to decorate it up with murals.

This is the second one that I did is inside of Crazi Cuts.

Come on in.

So, when I first came to the neighborhood, the owner, Mike, he told me I can do what I wanted to do, so I just put this together for him.

The 90s colors.

I got the colors from Martin, right?

So, I'm just out here in the neighborhood just trying to spruce it up and give some people who talk about Burlington something to talk about.

So, yeah.

You see this right here?

I airbrushed this for Miss Peggy who was the owner.

I sprayed it up and I did a stencil and it's crazy how she still got it.

Hey, Ms. Peggy.

- [Peggy] Hi, how are you?

- Hey.

- Yeah, he was painting the building over here when I met him and I really liked him, the vibe he had and I liked him.

I had him to do some stuff for me.

So, we've been friends- - He's been my pal ever since.

- Ever since.

- Look out for him.

[Artie laughs] - [Peggy] He's a good person.

[inspiring music] - I'm one of those artists that I don't paint just for kicks.

I like to go into an area and say, "Okay, this area needs this type of artwork."

I'm really good at that.

The type of art that I want to produce is if you can stand right here in this one spot, you'll be able to see art on this wall, that wall, the walls behind it, and even the ones far beyond and you know what's so crazy?

I've had this in my dreams.

I keep dreaming about a place that I can build up artistically, creatively.

I just want a whole entire neighborhood to myself, you know?

Burlington has a lot of open, empty canvas here with my name on it and if nobody comes and gets it, I'm going to take the whole thing to myself.

I really am.

I truly believe that it's just all a matter of time.

I create whether I'm getting paid for it or not.

It's gonna come out.

I can't help it.

I truly cannot help.

It is the way I am wired.

When they say Basquiat, when they say Warhol, I want Barksdale.

You know what I mean?

Keith Haring, Barksdale.

I wanna go down in history.

I want my children's children to say, "Hey, my granddaddy was Artie Barksdale III."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes.

I still have his artwork."

- To see some of Artie Barksdale's murals, take a tour down Trollinger Street in Downtown Burlington.

Artie is also on Instagram and Facebook.