Brett Bufferine, 22, is described by police as one of Chicago’s busiest graffiti artists.

In a recent column, I described his most recent arrest after his wallet was found near 12 railroad cars that had been vandalized.

He was charged with only a misdemeanor, although the cost of repainting the rail road cars will be more than $12,000, which could put the crime in the felony class.

However, the state’s attorney’s office said the wallet was not sufficient evidence. Nor were casual statements to police admitting his involvement.

Actually, Bufferine isn’t shy about discussing his passion for spray paint. In a phone interview, he jabbered at length about the joys of painting the property of others.

Why do graffiti?

“There are a lot of reasons. It’s hard to explain. I’ve been doing it since 1989, all over the whole city, other states.

“It’s like asking an artist, ‘Why did you paint that scene?’ or ‘What do you mean with that painting?’ Ask them what feeling they get when they paint or finish a painting. The whole art concept.”

On being arrested so many times:

“The way I look at it, it’s part of the job. You drive a car, you know you’ll get a flat tire some time. I’ve always had to deal with these cops. According to them, my work is identifiable.”

How he decides where to paint:

“I try to limit what I do. Anything we might look at is abandoned or decrepit. We don’t target people’s garages — that’s a myth. The people who write on garages are not seriously into it. No one’s going to see a garage except the people who live around there.

“We target whatever appeals at the time. Along the train lines. Or if we know there is a semi-trailer in the forest that’s been abandoned for five years, we’ll go there and have a good time and paint. I don’t work with a group on a regular basis.

“It’s usually different people.”

What else does he do, besides graffiti?

“I’m going to Columbia College to study interactive multimedia, animation, things like that. For right now I’m on vacation. Until I get through this. lt’s the worst it’s ever gotten. (Mayor) Daley and the Graffiti Busters kill it. They do such a damn good job.

“It’s sad for people who appreciate it. They eliminate what’s there and eliminate it for the future and the younger kids who get into it.

“It’s not for the public except they get something to look at whether they like it or not. People would get mad if we compare it to Picasso, but people who appreciate what they do when they complete a painting or a drawing or a lithograph and they look at what they created, there is a powerful feeling.”

How do his parents feel about his more than 20 arrests?

“My parents, they mainly are into the negative things about it, so they let that block out the appreciation. There was a time when things were good for a year, and they tried to have an open mind, but then they got pissed.”

On paying for his legal troubles:

”I don’t use my lawyer very often, and I work to pay for it. I don’t think this one should take long in court. That’s nothing, it’s hearsay.”

On artistic frustrations:

”Mostly (what I do) gets buffed. It’s upsetting. It’s quite a hassle to paint. I have to go out late and be on a rooftop for three or four hours, and it’s gone the next day. It’s never been like that before now.”

Why he doesn’t paint on conventional surfaces, such as a canvas?

“It’s not the same. You can’t get as big. The murals are large, so there are different styles. New York graffiti is on trains. Chicago graffiti, a lot of the style came from New York, but a lot is on rooftops.

“Being on the rooftop at three in the morning and painting it, then you go see it in the daylight, it’s big and bright, it’s colorful, it’s got flow, it says something. When you paint, you create a new style. It’s there to be looked at, especially for the other train riders who will see it. Some might like it and others might cross it out.”

Today’s vandals have a strange mindset. The computer hackers who wreck someone else’s computer programs don’t understand why it is wrong. They see it as a challenge to their skills.

People like Bufferine consider themselves artists, and to heck with those who have to spend $12,000 to undo their damage.

Of course, they have limits. As Bufferine told a cop who asked why he didn’t paint the homes of his parents or neighbors: “They’d kill me.”

Maybe prosecutors and judges should take that as a hint. If he is afraid that his parents might kill him, how would he feel about a cellmate who had a 20-inch neck?

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Mike Royko is a syndicated columnist for the Chicago Tribune.