Born in Nassau (Bahamas) in 1967, Ritchie Eyma is an artist whose work blends impressionism with realism, capturing the beauty and spirit of island life. His unique brushwork—dense, patterned, and raw—brings a vibrant depth and light to his paintings, setting them apart from more traditional depictions of island scenes.
Growing up in Port-au-Prince (Haiti), Eyma was surrounded by creativity. With one uncle working as a ceramicist and another studying at one of the local art schools, art was very much a part of his life. As a child, he was drawn to the world of comics, sketching his favorite characters with colored pencils before moving on to watercolors. The National Art Gallery and the Nader Gallery became his favorite haunts, where he immersed himself in the works of both traditional and contemporary artists.
Eyma’s artistic journey took a major turn when he moved back to Nassau where his high school art teacher introduced him to oils and acrylics. After passing his ‘A Level’ art exam, he found his true medium in oil paints.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Eyma began showcasing his work in the Central Bank Annual Art Competition and with the Long Branch Artists and Artisans Association. After a decade-long break, where he devoted himself to volunteer work in Bible education, Eyma returned to painting in 2003. His piece Fort Hill Houses was accepted for the National Art Gallery (NAGB)’s first-ever exhibition, marking a key moment in his career.
Eyma’s first major show came in 2005 at the Central Bank of the Bahamas with the Minnis Family Exhibition, where he displayed twelve of his oil paintings alongside his wife Roshanne, sister-in-law Nicole, and father-in-law Eddie Minnis—each well-known Bahamian artist. He later returned to the NAGB in 2014 for his father-in-law’s retrospective exhibition with a solid collection of his work.
Today, Ritchie Eyma lives in the Abacos with his wife Roshanne, where they share a studio and continue to explore their passion for art together.
