Finding perspective with artist Catherine Sim.

The interiors echo the way Catherine works: intuitive, layered, thoughtful. In her Balmain semi, on a quiet street edging Sydney Harbour, the light shifts across pale walls of dusty pink, green and orange. There’s a palpable gallery-esque sensibility, though warm and welcoming. Clean lines, a restrained palette, softened by the grains of a timber benchtops, the patina of mid-century furniture, the lived-in comfort of well-chosen pieces, curated with sincerity.

After selling her previous home in Lilyfield with BresicWhitney, Catherine tells us, “I bought the house in the following October and haven’t needed to do too much apart from painting and sanding the floors.” She named it Mirrung, a Dharug word meaning “belonging.” The choice feels entirely apt. “It’s in a great spot - a walk to the ferry, a walk to the gallery, and a walk to all my favourite places.”

The Balmain Peninsula, with Birchgrove at its east end, has long been a magnet for artists and creatives. Its mix of old maritime grit and evolving affluence is mirrored in the narrow streets, sandstone cottages, historic pubs, and the gallery/boutique traders. “I love the Inner West,” Catherine says. “I’ve basically lived here my whole adult life - Drummoyne, Annandale, Leichhardt, Lilyfield - and now Balmain. Inner Westies are my tribe. I love and value the community here.”

That sense of community runs through everything Catherine touches. A practicing artist and educator, her work is grounded in connection - to place, to people, to the land. Having started her working life in nursing (“because my father thought I needed a sensible job”), she later studied Visual Art at COFA in the 1990s. “Nursing put me through art school, so I’m glad I did have that sensible job.”

Her home is often the studio, but the first brushstrokes usually happen in the field. “My current art practice is mainly landscape painting. I often start by going out en plein air - sketches and watercolours - and then come back to the studio to complete larger oils.” Her subjects range from remote coastlines and rivers to the working harbour at her doorstep. “As well as the more traditional landscapes, I’m very interested in the urban, particularly the surrounding harbour with its ferries and tugs. I love the First Fleet group of ferries - they’re so chunky and nostalgic.”

Weather plays an elemental role in her work. “My paintings attempt to capture the fleeting changes of light and weather on the landscape. I love a moody sky and the last light.” She’s painted on isolated beaches as storms roll in, battled heat and insects in the bush. That commitment to the moment - being with the land, in the land - defines her practice. 

Garnering wide recognition, Catherine has been a finalist in numerous prizes, including the Ravenswood Women’s Art Prize (three times), the Lethbridge Landscape Prize, and the Stanthorpe Regional Art Prize. Residencies have taken her further afield, including the Nancy Fairfax Artist in Residence program at the Tweed Regional Gallery.

But just as important is her local gallery - Art Gallery on Darling, where she’s been a collective member for five years. “It’s a diverse group of about 10 artists, mainly women. We have one or two solo shows a year, a few group exhibitions, and consistently have our work in the gallery. It’s a great way to showcase your own practice and be part of a larger, inclusive art community.”

Back at Mirrung, the furniture is a patchwork of memory and utility. “Some of it is from my family home. Some I’ve found in op shops or vintage stores. My favourite pieces? My kitchen table from Three of a Kind in Leichhardt - it seats ten. My window seat that was built by my son. And my super comfortable Tessa chairs, which I found on Facebook Marketplace.”

The walls carry stories, too. “I’m a great fan of the gallery or salon hang where lots of different pieces are hung together. I never tire of looking at the artwork I’ve collected.”

There’s a quiet rhythm to life here: mornings with a coffee from the Gladstone Store, walks to the water’s edge at Mort Bay, the harbour always changing with the light. “I barely need my car,” she says. “I work from home, I walk everywhere. It’s lovely to just walk to a great pub like The Dock or the Royal and have dinner.”

As for the future, Catherine’s not going anywhere. “I doubt that I’ll move from Balmain now. I feel very settled here in this community and look forward to many years of being a part of it.”

And so the artist, whose work maps the changing face of Australia’s landscapes, has found her own place of stillness - a home anchored in its past, always looking forward for new colour.

Catherine's work is available to view and purchase at the Art Gallery on Darling - 307 Darling Street, Balmain or artgalleryondarling.com.au.