On the coast, light changes everything — the water, the land, even the air itself takes on a kind of glow.
I’m drawn to those threshold moments when the landscape quietly shifts — when atmosphere, distance, and light begin to shape not just the scene, but the feeling of being within it. It's that fleeting sense of suspension that continues to draw me back to paint.
I’m Aruna Rao, an impressionist coastal painter based in Florida, creating coastal oil paintings that capture the shifting moods of light along the shore.
I grew up in a literary family in India, surrounded by stories and art from around the world. The works of French Impressionists like Degas, Monet, and Van Gogh first ignited my love for painting.
After moving to the United States, I spent several years in the IT industry before returning to painting. I later earned an MFA in Painting from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and have since devoted myself full-time to painting and the continual pursuit of growth as an artist.
My Coastal Light Series is represented by Sheldon Fine Art (Naples & Newport) and Thornwood Gallery (San Antonio).