Local Artist Dreams Turn Reality With Help of Micro Loan

Asheville has long been a mecca for free thinkers, entrepreneurs, and artists. Many move to our fair city in hopes of establishing a name for themselves and exposing their art to the eager public. With so many individuals living within Buncombe County alone, the opportunities to expand one’s art and live the dream seems feasible, if not achievable.

However, for those that are simply struggling to find employment that will sufficiently pay rent on a modest apartment, having funding available to produce a product in hopes of a sale is a tough, if not near impossible feat to accomplish. Having something to share with the world but struggling to figure out how to do so can be a heavy burden for an artistic soul to bare.

Javier Morgan is a longtime Hendersonville resident currently living in Asheville, North Carolina. In every bit of spare time, he draws – on paper, napkins, wood; any type of surface available. Using simple black pen and Sharpie, he quickly brings imaginative dreamscapes and surreal characters to life. “I’ve been drawing since I was a kid,” Javi explains. “It’s really been the past 6 years or so that I’ve really focused on it.”

“Most of what you see are things from my dreams, and the characters that show up,” he tells us.

While there is no particular name that he is aware of for his unique style of art, it invokes a feeling of familiarity, similar to illustration art. With strong, sure strokes of black pen, Javi brings lines and shapes to life in the form of surprising characters who are not always what they seem. As an aspiring artist, Javi has run into the same struggle that so many others have: time and dedication, with lack of funds. After being told that his art would serve well as an all ages coloring book, he carefully crafted amazing works that translate perfectly to coloring pages that appeal to everyone. Now what?

As a hyper local media outlet, the staff at AshevilleBlog believe in feeding into our community. Whether talking about literal food, like with Thanksgiving Feast Boxes, or helping families give their children a Christmas when there would otherwise be none, Asheville Blog is consistently examining ways in which we can help others. We frequently encounter artists that share Javi’s same struggles with having the money to produce their work, so we decided to do something about it.

With a micro loan from Asheville Blog, Javi took his work to local printer Asheville Color and Imaging, who brought his coloring book dreams to life. With enough money to print a first run, Javi’s Illustrations are now available for purchase. Locally sourced and created, this wonderful coloring book is comprised of 11 hand drawn images, printed out on thick 8.5 x 11 sheets of paper, and spiral bound. The binding allows each page to lay flat, and the thickness of each page means that each print, once colored, can be individually framed and displayed if so desired.

This is the first of our artist initiatives, and our staff is thrilled to help an artists dreams turn into reality. With this micro loan, we are assisting the artist with marketing and selling of the first run of books. Once the second run has sold, the loan covers the printing of a second run of inventory. Once the loan is paid back, the artist keeps the profit and has enough money to re-invest into further inventory. Oftentimes, the initial charge that includes one time set up fees is cost prohibitive, so this micro loan takes the burden off of the artist and allows them to do what they do best – create.

Javier Morgan’s work can be seen by visiting his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Javis-illustrations/

and on Instagram under the username @amos1986

If you are interested in purchasing a coloring book, use the paypal button below to buy a copy today.

Do you know of a local artist that may benefit from a micro loan? Tell us about them in the comments below!