Ernest Barnes Jr. was born during the Jim Crow era in "the bottom" community of Durham, North Carolina, near the Hayti District of the city.

His mother, Fannie Mae Geer (1905–2004), oversaw the household staff for a prominent Durham attorney and local Board of Education member, Frank L. Fuller Jr. On days when Fannie allowed "June" (Barnes's nickname to family and childhood friends) to accompany her to work, Mr. Fuller encouraged him to peruse the art books and listen to classical music.

When he entered junior high school, he could appreciate, as well as decode, many of the cherished masterpieces within the walls of mainstream museums – although it would be many more years before he was allowed entrance because of segregation.

In his senior year at Hillside High School, Barnes became the captain of the football team and state champion in the shot put.

During the off-seasons with the Chargers, Barnes was program director at San Diego's Southeast YMCA working with parolees from the California Youth Authority.

[10] Many times during breaks, Barnes would run off the field onto the sideline to give his offensive line coach Red Miller the scraps of paper of his sketches and notes.

"[13] Barnes's November 1966 debut solo exhibition, hosted by Werblin at the Grand Central Art Galleries in New York City, was critically acclaimed and all the paintings sold.

[14][15] In 1971, Barnes wrote a series of essays (illustrated with his own drawings) in the Gridiron newspaper titled "I Hate the Game I Love" (with Neil Amdur).

[16] These articles became the beginning manuscript of his autobiography, later-published in 1995 titled From Pads to Palette which chronicles his transition from professional football (also erroneously indicating that he had been an NFL player) to his art career.

"[1] Weeks before Ernie Barnes's first solo art exhibition in 1966, he was at the family home in Durham as his father lay in the hospital after suffering a stroke.

[11] Moving to an all-Jewish neighborhood in Los Angeles known as the Fairfax District in 1971 was a major turning point in Barnes's life and art.

LAOOC President Peter V. Ueberroth said Barnes and his art "captured the essence of the Olympics" and "portray the city's ethnic diversity, the power and emotion of sports competition, the singleness of purpose and hopes that go into the making of athletes the world over."

[10] 1987: Barnes created Fastbreak, a commissioned painting of the World Champion Los Angeles Lakers basketball team that included Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Kurt Rambis and Michael Cooper.

[25] Other notable sports commissions include paintings for the New Orleans Saints, Oakland Raiders and Boston Patriots football team owners.

At age 21, he had just signed his football contract and met his new teammates Johnny Unitas, Jim Parker, Lenny Moore, Art Donovan, Gino Marchetti, Alan Ameche and "Big Daddy" Lipscomb.

Using a palette knife, "painting in quick, direct movements hoping to capture the vision ... before it evaporated," Barnes said, he created "The Bench" in less than an hour.

In 2014, Barnes's wife Bernie presented The Bench painting to the Pro Football Hall of Fame for their permanent collection in Canton, Ohio.

It gained international exposure when it was used on the Good Times television series (within the fictional show it's supposed to be the artwork of Jimmie Walker's J.J. Evans, an aspiring painter) and on the 1976 Marvin Gaye album I Want You.

[32][33] During the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever anniversary television special on March 25, 1983, tribute was paid to The Sugar Shack with a dance interpretation of the painting.

From 1972 to 1979, "The Beauty of the Ghetto" traveled to major U.S. cities, where his celebrity supporters and local elected officials hosted the shows and new collectors from across the country were introduced to his work.

"[20]1992: In the wake of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, Mayor Tom Bradley used Barnes's painting Growth Through Limits as an inspirational billboard in the inner-city.

[37] Barnes felt compelled to create the painting from his "concern with the just application of the law ... the integrity of the legal process for all people, but especially those without resource or influence.

A limited number of giclée prints were sold with 100% of the proceeds going to the Hero Scholarship Fund, which provides college tuition and expenses to children of Pennsylvania police and fire personnel killed in the line of duty.

The National Football League and Time Warner sponsored A Tribute to Artist and NFL Alumni Ernie Barnes in New York City.

Barnes played Dr. Penfield in the 1971 movie Doctors' Wives, which starred Dyan Cannon, Richard Crenna, Gene Hackman and Carroll O'Connor.

In 1971 Barnes, along with Mike Henry, created the Super Comedy Bowl, a variety show CBS television special which showcased pro athletes with celebrities such as John Wayne, Frank Gifford, Alex Karras, Joe Namath, Jack Lemmon, Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett and Tony Curtis.

Barnes's artwork was also used on many television series, including Columbo, The White Shadow, Dream On, The Hughleys, The Wayans Bros., Wife Swap, and Soul Food, and in the movies Drumline and Boyz n the Hood.

The 2016 film Southside with You (about Barack and Michelle Obama's first date) prominently features Barnes's work in an early scene where the two characters visit an art exhibition.

[48][49] Barnes passed away on Monday evening, April 27, 2009, at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, California, from myeloid leukemia.

[50] He was cremated and his ashes were scattered in two places: at his hometown Durham, North Carolina, near the site of where his family home once stood, and at the beach in Carmel, California, one of his favorite cities.