Seeing faces in the rocks

Laconia artist brings life to natural formations

By THOMAS P. CALDWELL, LACONIA DAILY SUN

LACONIA — Richard Ostro says he always keeps an eye out for interesting rock formations.

“I always see a face,” he said. “It can be disturbing.”

An artist who was a custom painter and builder before retiring to his home in the Paugus Woods development off White Oaks Road, Ostro has been able to pick out turtles, lizards and monsters in the rocks, and has used his talents to bring out the natural features of the stone.

It was his neighbor whom he calls “Tom-Tom” who saw an Indian’s face in a stone outcropping at the side of Sarasota Road, leading into the development. The “eye” was readily apparent, and Ostro used paint and smaller rocks to highlight the features.

“It puts our development on the map,” he said, noting that strangers have driven up the road to take a look at the rock.

His and his neighbor’s yards also have examples of his enhancements to Mother Nature, from piranhas to monsters of the deep to a tyrannosaurus rex.

“I look to make things a little cooler,” he said, adding with a laugh that his wife sometimes says he needs to cool it with the rock painting.

Ostro has been coming to the Lakes Region for 20 years and he retired here last year. Also a motorcycle enthusiast, he has a 1972 Harley-Davidson that used to be a police vehicle before he customized it. He said he has been featured in magazines that include Easy Rider, Home & Garden, and Yankee.

“Mother Nature does most of the work,” he said. “I just do the shadowing.”

Richard Ostro with his embellishment of Mother Nature that highlights a natural stone Indian head. Ostro, an artist, custom painter, and builder who retired to the Paugus Woods development off White Oaks Road, Laconia, found the stone formation at the side of Sarasota Road. (Tom Caldwell/Laconia Daily Sun)