Henry Garrou

- Art Director -

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Originally from the mountains North Carolina, Henry Garrou attended NC State University for a few years. He started his professional journey after a slight detour playing guitar and singing in a band, after which, he returned home to complete his associates degree in Chemistry at Western Piedmont Community College. Henry restarted his own education at nights, from a studio apartment in Raleigh, NC, while working at a local sports bar. Eventually, he landed his first job as a graphic artist at MediaGraphics, in Garner, NC. and nightly study. Eventually, he founded the company's fledgling video department, which immediately obtained clients and was off to a strong start. MediaGraphics was purchased by Adstreet, and Henry followed along with the assets to assist in founding their video production department which eventually became Capstone Production Group.

Capstone's success afforded Henry the opportunity to produce a sizable body of work, and gave him an outlet for the software and techniques he had been studying for years. Night study beget enrollment in online universities, where Henry discovered the Academy of Art University (AAU) in San Fransicso, California. After a number of courses, Henry moved to San Francisco, where he was employed by the University. He Lectured many hours over his six years there, and taught industry professionals who currently work at Pixar, ILM, and countless other VFX and film companies. Henry also authored courses for AAU, including some post-graduate courses.

During his last months in North Carolina, departing from Capstone, Henry and his co-worker and friend, Brant Curtiss, had reformed Brant's own production company, Whitetree Media, such that it offered a more diverse array of products, e.g. both of their abilities combined. The two formed a classic start-up company above Brant's garage in North Raleigh and formed a clear vision of what was possible if they continued to work diligently. Their efforts and professional connections slowly formed what is now Whitetree Media, a professional edification that is possible when a smaller number of employees are highly educated, focused, committed, and efficient.

Henry and Jesica welcomed a new member to their family, in San Francisco. Emma Garrou brought with her all the uncertainty of, excitement from, and need for parenting. Inevitably, the work Henry and Brant had done lead to a stable company serving many clients. The timing was right for Henry to leave California and form Whitetree's northern office in the state of Maine, where he works to this hour.

Henry prefers his computer to most forms of artistic media, but relies heavily on pencil and charcoal drawings to see between the pixels. He is an accomplished oil painter, and creates set designs and costumes from foam and anything that's available. He still plays guitar and sings to the walls of the office when it's empty. He is a household name there.