Eija Öhrnberg

Born in Finland in 1955, Eija Öhrnberg was introduced to painting as a child by her mother, an accomplished painter in her own right. She first came to New York City in 1981. “The city was very different at that time,” she recalls. Though she’s tried other mediums (oils, acrylics, pastels), she prefers watercolors because they provide “endless possibilities to mix colors and create new versions of things.” And watercolors are uniquely suited to painting 800 feet up in the sky, she says. “The weather is different up here. Everything changes all the time, so for me watercolor is the best medium.”