The only limit is your imagination with custom rock art company

“Dream big,” Daniel Pitts advises his clients.

His company, Ocean Rock Art, specializes in custom concrete rock work that imitates nature’s beauty.

“Take a walk in the forest and literally, we can recreate it,” Pitts says.

From residential artificial rock, commercial installations and everything in-between, the only limit is the client’s imagination.

Pitts moved to Whistler at 18 to snowboard and began a carpentry apprenticeship. He met Frank Fletcher, the owner of Kyber Developments, who showed Pitts what was possible in terms of artificial rocks.

“It sparked my interest. He showed me his stuff and I was able to pick his brain,” Pitts says.

“I realized I picked it up pretty quickly.”

Fletcher introduced Pitts to the technique of shotcrete, which is pneumatically applied concrete that is able to stick vertically which allows for greater creativity because it doesn’t require ties or forming.

“Once we shoot it and finish it, it’s done,” Pitts says.

“We can make trees out of shotcrete. We can make rocks and build a full structural foundation for a house, adding a decorative element instead of just a concrete wall.”

Pitts started Ocean Rock Art in 2008 to offer the services to clients in the Sea to Sky highway and beyond.

“Nobody else was doing this here and it’s a passion of mine,” Pitts says.

“When I was a kid, my Dad and I built model railroads. Now we’re doing these models at massive scales.”

Pitts’ expertise is in demand, and he’s often asked to travel and consult or bid for special projects, such as building the grotto for Kid Rock’s house.

“Our work is as much art as it is practical,” Pitts says.

A lot of the company’s work aside from swimming pools and decorative features is stabilization so contractors can excavate.

Pitts will work closely with his clients to make their creative visions come to life, including 3D modelling their projects so they can get a sense of what the finished product will look like.

“I have a good way of explaining what we can do,” Pitts says.

“From a grotto to a pool, to stairs that wrap around the whole property, I can run around the site and tell them what’s possible. I can see it before it’s built.”

For inspiration and more information, please visit www.oceanrockindustries.com.