ABOUT THE FOUNDER
Beaumont Native Henry Smith Although a force Henry’s real passion is art which he started since he was 8 years old. After graduating from the university he taught high school art and coached high school football. However he wanted to do more so he started to do his own thing. At first he did a little bit of everything – painting, drawing etc. and he posted some of his artwork on Facebook. He got a lot of positive feedback and people started to buy from him nationwide. He had confidence and faith in his abilities and he enjoyed his work.
Henry’s advice to anyone who has a dream is “Trust in God and obey what you are prompted to do. You will be amazed what God can do for you when you obey.
So take that leap of faith.”
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DIFFICULT ROADS OFTEN LEAD TO BEAUTIFUL DESTANATION
The Birth of CHIDI
When Henry drew CHIDI he simply wanted to connect with his roots and give back to the people. He didn’t even have a name for the black woman that he painted. At that time he was going through a lot mentally in terms of his career and other parts of his life. He prayed and asked God what he wanted him to do with the piece of art. Within minutes of praying he received this deep inspiration to look up African names. Out of the thousands of names, the name “Chidi” stood out. He clicked on “Chidi” and learned that its meaning was “God exists” in Igbo, a major language in Nigeria. To Henry this was profound, considering that he had just prayed to God. That was enough for him to call his painting “Chidi.”