SAN DIEGO — A person's true passion has a funny way of tracking them down. In this Zevely Zone, I met a San Diegan who always felt like a fish out of water.
We visited the La Jolla home of Rocky Frost where his walls are lined with the catch of the day. "When I was a kid, I always liked working on cars, bicycles, anything with wheels on it," Rocky. The 67-year-old is your typical San Diegan. He was raised in Pacific Beach then headed off to SDSU. "Got my music degree in accordion performance," said Rocky.
But his life took a hard right turn when his father asked him a question. "Hey, do you want to start an autobody restoration shop?" said Rocky.
For 47-years, Rocky managed Custom Auto Body in Kearny Mesa. "I knew that was going to be the rest of my life," said Rocky. I asked him if his heart was in auto body restoration. "That is a really good question, my dad knew that it probably wasn't, but he knew it was good for me and he was right," said Rocky.
He always loved painting, just not cars. "Three years ago, my wife and I retired and now I'm an artist," said Rocky. He fishes from his kayak and uses the fish he catches to put his own special spin on the Japanese art style called Gyotaku. He catches a fish, paints the fish and then? "I put the paper on the fish," said Rocky. "You put it on top and pull it off and it transfers the image. You can smell the fish on the paper."
It was on a kayak a few years ago, Rocky made our news. "Yes, I hooked a nine-foot hammerhead shark off of La Jolla Shores and when I came in, I saw the Channel 8 News crew there," said Rocky. He didn't bring the hammerhead home, but rockfish are a different story.
"When you reel one up you never know what you are going to get," said Rocky. The walls of his home are covered with more traditional art, but it's the Gyotaku that is making waves.
At the age of 67, Rocky's about to reel in his first art exhibit ever. "So, the name of my show is Some Things Fishy & 4 the Birds." Just like the cars he worked on for nearly five decades, Rocky's restoring himself with art. "It's going to I think. We'll find out," laughed Rocky. "Never give up because you never know what is going to happen."
Rocky's art show will be held at B Free Studio located at 7857 Girard Avenue, La Jolla, from September 13-25. For more information click here.
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