Going South...(words,words,words)

For the winter it seems- or at least a few days for Supanova in Sydney. I say that because it was relatively balmy in Kingscliff-and depressingly dreary here in Sydney.
I left at about 4.30 in the morning- and wow it was really magical and mystical viewing between Ballina and Glen Innes- all of this daybreak hitting the fog and mist-kinda ghostly paddocks you expect some figure to emerge from. But then after as I headed to Tamworth it seemed all the colour drained out of the landscape- pretty much till about 100k from Sydney.
What I'm getting to though- is I was seeing all these amazing views and lanscapes and colours as I drove along
- and then you think of what passes for environment 'concept art'- kinda monocromatic blasted landscapes.
Man there is so much mysticalness to be had in these australian landscapes I was seeing-why should anyone (from australia) bother regurgitating the same environment memes?
+ I saw a lot  of what I'd call "Australian Gothic"
Odd as it seems I've never driven to Sydney from Brisbane before- always Brisbane to Melbourne or Canberra to Sydney- so I'd never seen that northern approach to Sydney.
So what I'd like to know is- who paid for all those giant cuttings through all those stone hills?
Can't have been the incas- they're all dead. It looks amazing like the footings of giant japanese castles  but I am disgusted at how much would have been spent on this indulgence of a motorway.
And yet there are cracks on the surface of the freeway you could hide an elephant in!
Bah.
Am completely unused to city traffic- spent 1 hour travelling 5 k on Parramatta Rd. I think all you Sydney people who live and drive in this need your heads read.
What needs to happenis High speed wireless in these country towns and fill those old buildings full of artists. Again glen innes had some really nice ones(buildings-not artists) on its derelict looking main street.
(And just what is it with chinese restaurants in Country towns?)
Which brings me to my visit to Tamsin Ainslie's open studio the previous weekend.
Basically Tamsin has created a sort of Illustrators heaven on earth in her little second floor studio in Murwullimbah. A beautiful little studio-unfortunately I had to view and run but Tamsin's brownies and cupcakes looked fabulous too- I know I'm a starving artist  but I can still resist the urge to stuff my pockets full of free brownies(note-decision not to stuff brownies into my cheeks like a chipmunk I now regret ).