Ross Smith was born in 1962 in the town of Condobolin, in the Wiradjuri area of Central New South Wales, Australia. He lived on the Mission at Condobolin with his family as a child, and that is where he started on the road to becoming a traditional Aboriginal craftsman. Ross learned from his family, in the way that skills and heritage are passed down from one Aboriginal generation to the next. His grandfather and his father were both craftsmen, skilled in the art of making boomerangs and other Aboriginal artifacts, and they passed those skills along to Ross as he grew to be a man. His mother was a skilled painter, so she was one of his main influences in the area of painted art.
In 1982, Ross married his wife Trish, and they are still married today and living in Gorokan, New South Wales. They have 4 children who, as of May 2009, are aged from 10 to 27. The eldest, Ross-Charles, is 27 years old and is married. Then comes Niaomie who is 25, Kim who is 21, and finally Dan who is 10. All of the children have inherited a love of art, and Ross has followed the same path with them as his family did with him, helping them to learn what they needed to know about their art and their heritage.
Ross has made his living as an Aboriginal artist and craftsman all of his adult life. And while he was fully capable of creating all types of Aboriginal products, his staple products for sale for the longest time were didgeridoos and boomerangs. Ross was excellent at making and selling didgeridoos and boomerangs, and his skill as an Aboriginal craftsman enabled him to sell them to customers all over the world. About 2004, however, there was a shift in emphasis for Ross, as he began to rely more and more on Aboriginal paintings to earn his living. And in doing so, he quickly demonstrated that he was an excellent Aboriginal painter. So, as would be expected from someone of his caliber, Ross began displaying his paintings at shows and exhibits featuring Aboriginal art. A list of the exhibitions at which Ross has displayed his paintings is as follows:
2004 - 5th National Indigenous Environmental Health Conference,
where his painting was an awards finalist
2005 - Parliament of New South Wales Indigenous Arts Prize
competition, where his painting was an awards finalist
2006 - Gosford Art Gallery regional exhibition, where his painting
was an awards finalist
2006 - Oceanic Fair exhibition
2006 - Rogue Gallery Entrance Art exhibition
2007 - "Landscapes of the Dreaming" Heritage Trust personal
exhibition in Mosman Bay
2007 - Gosford Art Gallery regional exhibition
2007 - Avoca Beach Life Saving Club exhibition
2007 - Gallerie Figure exhibition in Paris, France
2007 - Campbelltown Art exhibition, where his painting was an
awards finalist
2007 - Parliament of New South Wales Indigenous Arts Prize
competition, where his painting was an awards finalist
2008 - Rogue Gallery Entrance Art exhibition
2008 - Gosford Art Gallery regional exhibition
2009 - Ourimbah University exhibition
2009 - Gosford Art Gallery regional exhibition, where Ross
and 7 other painters joined together as "Journey of
Dreams" to paint the winning painting in the
"Collaborative Art" category
2009 - Journey of Dreams exhibition at the Gosford Art Gallery
2009 - Journey of Dreams exhibition in Singapore
2009 - Manderlong Gallery's "A Timeless Land" exhibition, held
at the Gosford Art Gallery, where Ross was the artist
who was profiled and had his work showcased.
2010 - Desert and Precious Water exhibition, an ongoing exhibition
series which was held at the Event Venue in Sydney. Ross
was one of three artists whose paintings were on display
there, and his paintings all belonged to the Precious Water
category.
2011-Gosford Art Gallery,Manderlong Gallery and privet Exhibition
2012 – WUPA Exhibition ,Blue Toungue Winery/Crown Plaza/Hunter Resort
Along with his emergence as an Aboriginal painter, Ross decided that he needed to change the manner in which he marketed Wiradjuri Dreaming merchandise. In the past, Ross had sold the largest part of his boomerangs and didgeridoos to third parties, 'middle men' if you will, and they had made the lion's share of the profit on his work - a common problem for Aboriginal artists. But as paintings became a more significant part of his creative effort, Ross decided that selling his products to 'middle men' was no longer the best way for him to do business. So, Ross moved Wiradjuri Dreaming into the arena of direct sales to customers, for those interested in high quality Aboriginal paintings at a reasonable price. Eliminating the 'middle men', Ross is now offering his paintings at a cost that fairly reflects their value, but without the kind of a markup that customers have had to pay to buy from galleries and shops.
In the spring of 2009, Ross shared a shop with several other artists, in an attempt to expand the avenues through which he could market Wiradjuri Dreaming products. After a few months, however, he decided that the time required to keep the shop going was hampering other of his activities which he considered important, and for that reason he ended his participation in the shop project.
Additionally, Ross is firmly committed to giving back to his community, and especially to the schools and the children.
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Ross-Charles Smith is a emerging Artist.
He has already been in competition's in Gosford and Sydney and has sold his art in Singapore in a Government funded exhibition.
His art is more contempery than his Dads,and some people have the privilege of wearing his art as Tattoo's,though he only does this for a select few,his own body is a walking art piece of his original work.
Ross-Charles' is this year taking the step out into the art world properly,as he was at this age hit/miss,now he interest in art has developed and his art tell's some interesting story's.
Ross-Charles art seems to at this time future the Ocean (live on the Central Coast has impact) he has interesting designs,at this time i haven't yet seen anybody do what he is doing in his work.
Ross-Charles has been helping his dad with didges/boomerangs and Mural's since he was 17,so he has his foot firmly in the door.
So now we welcome RC to WIRADJURI DREAMING as the full partner he is.
2007 -Gosford Art Gallery
2009-Parliament of New South Wales Indigenous Arts Prize Com
2009-Singapore Exhibition ,where he made sales
