WASHINGTON -- Artist Chor Boogie from San Francisco has been in the nation's capital throughout August painting Washington, D.C.'s largest public art mural.

Located in the Edgewood neighborhood, the mural is a gift to the community from the artists, the mayor, and the D.C. Commission on Arts and Humanities. The anchor mural stretches 300 feet, and another 300 feet of wall space shows off art from amateurs in the community.

It's called "From Edgewood to the Edge of the World" and 40 young people from the Mayor's Summer Youth Employment Program have worked on the mural alongside Boogie. Boogie came to D.C. with the public arts nonprofit Albus Cavus, which selected him as a lead artist to educate and inspire the youth working on the project. We talked to him as he put the final touches on his work.

"I usually start off with the eyes, like in this piece in particular, I started off with the eye in the middle, going along with the spiritual effects and everything," said Boogie. He described his work as color therapy. "Basically if you can hone in on one color or several colors they have healing effects, whether you believe in it or not," he said.

Boogie called San Francisco his launching point. He created art for a mural at the Beijing Olympics, and he held shows in Mexico City and Dubai. He painted portraits of celebrities like Jay-Z and Hugh Hefner. However, he said this public project was particularly important.

"I believe this is one of the best things the government has done, so far this year, besides electing Obama," he said. Boogie said the arts and this mural can provide hope in a troubled economy. "We need to dive into our culture, to find out what we really need to basically help us move, help us transcend," he said.