Rockville Centre artist drops ‘ABCs of Long Island’ book

James McDonald, a Rockville Centre graphic artist and owner of Lost Dog Art and Frame Company, has published his first book, “The ABCs of Long Island.” The children’s book went on sale earlier this month, both online at ilostmydog.com and at McDonald’s shop on S. Park Avenue.

“I want [the book] to be something that’s a bit interactive and invokes a family thing,” McDonald said. “As you’re reading it to your kid, the kid goes ‘Oh, what’s Fire Island?’ and they learn about Long Island.”

The book’s dust cover has a graphic map of Long Island on the inside with elements from the book, such as bagels, egg sandwiches, the Big Duck and Adventureland. “So moms and dad or anyone reading the book can go and point to it,” McDonald noted.

McDonald, who grew up in Lindenhurst, creates tons of nautical-themed and Long Island-related posters, as well as sports and vintage designs and typography maps. He has a signature style: bold typefaces, blocky illustrations and bright, joyful color schemes.

All of this translates into the book. In fact, before the book came to fruition, the “ABCs of Long Island” started on a single page as a poster, which is also available for purchase.

Walking into the Lost Dog storefront is like entering the mind of the artist — in the front, there’s finished work for customers to peruse. Larger works hang in frames on the walls, and smaller posters are matted and filed in boxes near the windows for people to sift through.

In the back, behind McDonald’s half-desk, half-check-out counter, is his workspace, where new ideas flow. One of those is an “ABCs of Rockville Centre” poster, inspired by the “ABCs of Long Island.” There’s a large table with poster boards, cutting mats, frames and other supplies. At his Mac desktop computer, he put finishing touches on a catalog overviewing his work, which he’ll display at a trade show at Manhattan’s Javits Center from Feb. 2 to 5.

Selling his work wholesale is “the branch of the company that’s most important,” McDonald said. At past trade shows, he has sold his work to HomeGoods and Bed Bath and Beyond.

McDonald earned a bachelor’s degree in graphic design from SUNY Farmingdale. During his college years, he launched the “Lost Dog” brand and website as a way to display his portfolio. The name, which came from an art project he did in college, stuck. He’s been selling his artwork for 10 years now.

However, the business “started just as a side hustle from my graphic design job,” McDonald said. For a while, he lived in Brooklyn and worked as a creative director for a sunglass company and sold his own work out of his home.

“I came up with more designs and they started selling,” he explained. “I started doing some local art and craft fairs around Long Island, and those did really well … I understood the business part of it, too. You have to sell it, you have to package it, and I was able to do all that and make money.”

Eventually, he quit his job and made running his own business a full-time gig. About five years ago, he opened a storefront in Brooklyn. Then, two years ago, he and his family moved to Rockville Centre and he opened up shop in the village.

“I wanted to have a business in the town where I live, not only because of the commute but knowing the great atmosphere of the downtown and the good crowd,” he said.

McDonald hopes the ABCs book will help draw awareness to his work and that his projects will “feed off of each other,” he said. “And if people are digging it, I can hopefully make some more books,” he added. “Maybe there’s more ABCs books, maybe there’s something else down the road, and I’ll build a following that way, too.”