Art sale, book signing in downtown Rockingham

ROCKINGHAM — A local artist and author will have their works on display Saturday at IncSpace.

Rob McCullough is a self-taught visual artist based in Hamlet, with abstract works in acrylic, watercolor, ink, “capturing intuitive impressions of the world around him,” according to his bio.

McCullough has displayed and sold his art several times at the building and local festivals.

Irving Long will also be signing copies of several of his books on local history.

Long grew up in Richmond County, graduating from Rockingham High School in 1957. He then studied journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill, where he had a mentor in the late Walter Spearman.

Long’s first newspaper job was at the Hamlet News-Messenger. He also wrote for the Fayetteville Observer and off and on with Richmond County Journal during his ‘20s.

In his early years, the longtime writer would take some time off and work on ships, traveling the world.

In addition to the Raleigh News & Observer, Long also went on to write for the Long Island Press in the ‘70s — until it folded — and spent 24 years working for Newsday.

When he retired, he moved back to Richmond County and became a farmer.

The books he’s written include subjects of local interest, including the Pee Dee River, Hitchcock Creek, Rockingham High School and the Civil War.

The event is open to the public and runs from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Inc. Space, 115 S. Lawrence St., Rockingham, also houses the Richmond Observer, Nana’s Coffee Rocks, Carolina Scoop, WAYN and the Richmond County Partnership for Children.