The artwork behind a new local coloring book will be on display this month at the Suffolk County Historical Society Museum, with a chance to meet the young creator of the project at an opening reception this weekend.
“Color Riverhead” is an ambitious project to capture a number of local buildings and landmarks around town in a 48-page coloring book. The book features finely detailed drawings of 22 locations throughout Riverhead, including the Suffolk Theater, the Riverhead Town water tower and the Big Duck.
Riverhead is the fourth subject of the coloring book series, which is created by 22-year-old Jake Rose. He began last year with a book featuring a number of locations around Greenport, where he is a part-time resident. The books were an immediate hit.
“People are passionate about where they live, their towns, their neighborhoods, their history,” said Rose’s father, Ron, in a previous interview.
There is indeed something mesmerizing about the illustrations, which recreate familiar local landmarks in bold, brilliant color. Each detail is carefully recorded, from the majestic columns that front Pulaski Street School to the ice-cream-shaped “open” sign at Snowflake.
In addition to Riverhead and Greenport, Jake Rose has produced coloring books for Sag Harbor and the North Fork. He also has begun printing packs of postcards, which feature smaller prints of the same illustrations from the book.
“People have such an emotional reaction to the postcards,” Ron Rose said. “There’s something about them that touches people.”
The black-and-white line drawings from the coloring book are based off of large, full-color print illustrations of each location. These illustrations will be on display at an exhibit in the Suffolk County Historical Society Museum from October 6 to 28.
A reception will be held this Saturday at 1 p.m., where visitors will have an opportunity to meet Rose and his father. Copies of the coloring book and postcards will be available for purchase there, as well as on the Color Our Town website.
The survival of local journalism depends on your support.
We are a small family-owned operation. You rely on us to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Just a few dollars can help us continue to bring this important service to our community.
Support RiverheadLOCAL today.
