Feature Profiles
7 January, 2026
SUMMER READING Ross and a splashing time in the bush
FOR many people a fallen tree or a stump is nothing more than that but for Wedderburn artist Ross Currie, it’s a source of inspiration.
A log in Marong has become a shark, a stump near St Arnaud transformed into a dog and plain concrete poles brightened with nature themed art on the road to Dunolly.
“I see things when I’m driving around going about my day and a form starts taking shape, so I just go with it.” Ross said.
Ross has been turning nature into works of art for about 15 years.
Along with his roadside art he works with wood sculpting and has created a large vine snake made from one piece of wood found wrapped around a peppercorn tree in Wedderburn.
The snake lives in his studio along with many of his pyrography and charcoal landscapes.
Bin nights in Wedderburn feature a display of Ross’ artwork as residents put their decorated wheelie bins out for collection.
Ross’ wheelie bin art began during the COVID-19 pandemic when he painted his own bins and has taken on a life of its own years later with many requests for decorated bins coming in.
The painted power poles on the road to Dunolly were started as something to fill in Ross’ time and it wasn’t until he began work on the sixth piece that he realised how much people loved them.
“I had no idea people loved them so much until someone pulled over when I was painting one to tell me how much they loved to see them on their drive.” Ross said.
“It was just something I did for fun, and the town loved it”
Ross finished the final pole of his own art trail in October and has had plenty of good feedback and “fortunately no complaints yet”.
“I do the art for the joy of it” Ross says, “it breaks up a boring drive and gives people something fun to lookout for.”
Ross is responsible for starting the Wedderburn Open Air Gallery, a series of six murals throughout the town. The theme of the murals is Birds Eye View as Wedderburn is considered a mecca for birdlife. Ross learnt the art of spray painting from the artists working on the mural and has adapted that knowledge into his roadside art. “It’s very different to anything else I’ve used and I’m still learning but it’s working well.” He said.
“People often ask me where my next project will be, but the answer is usually I don’t know. If I go looking, I won’t find anything, so I just wait and see what finds me.”
One of the pieces that found Ross was the stump he turned into a tribute for his dog Basil. After he lost Basil, Ross hadn’t planned on doing a tribute for him, but he saw the stump on his way home and immediately saw the form of an ear and took it as a sign it was something he needed to do.
“It was a meant to be one, found the stump by pure accident, even the head pose was there as he always looked towards the sky for those pesky jets who he thought were trying to pinch his bone” Ross said.
Often Ross’ ideas start with just one feature like an ear or some lips. One of his well-loved pieces of art known as the “Mick Jagger Tree”, came about from “I saw the gap in the tree, and it looked like a pair of big lips and when I thought big lips Mick Jagger came to mind” Ross said.
The Mick Jagger tree is one Ross touches up every now and then as the tree sheds its bark to make sure its looking bright for visitors.
While he does use a protective coating on all his roadside art, being exposed to the elements can cause them to fade faster than other work so he keeps an eye on all of them, doing touch ups as needed.
What started as a project to fill in some time has now become an attraction to the area for both locals and tourists.
“My art became so much more popular than I ever expected. It’s something I do for the joy of it and I’m glad it brings other people joy.” Ross said.