A woman with dark hair standing in front of a painting of boats at a dock, holding a cloth. She is wearing a beige shirt with red elephants, dark pants, and sandals, in an art studio with brushes and paints on a table and an easel behind her.

"There's a moment on the coast when light transforms everything - the water, the land, the air itself. That's the feeling, and the memory, I try to paint."

Hello! I’m Aruna Rao, an impressionist coastal painter based in Florida, creating seascape oil paintings that capture shimmer, light, and atmosphere across water and sky.

I grew up in a literary family in India, surrounded by stories and art from around the world. The vibrant works of French impressionists like Degas, Monet, and Van Gogh first ignited my love for painting.

After moving to the U.S., I spent years in the IT industry before returning to that spark, earning an MFA in Painting with top honors from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

Since then, painting has become my full-time journey. My aim is to create landscapes that transcend surface beauty — paintings where shimmer, mood, and atmosphere invite something both intimate and universal. With each piece, I hope viewers not only see a place, but also feel a memory, a story, or a moment of timeless connection.

When I’m not painting or exploring new coastal views, I love chilling out with my husband and our adorable cats.