On the coast, light changes everything — the water, the land, even the air itself takes on a kind of glow —
I paint how light transforms the coast, shaping water and atmosphere into the felt experience of being there.
I'm drawn to those threshold moments — when light begins to define the space and everything within it, and time seems to slow down.
It's that intangible feeling of being there as it unfolds — fleeting and yet enduring — that continues to draw me back to paint.
I’m Aruna Rao, an impressionist coastal painter based in Florida, creating seascape oil paintings that capture the shifting moods of light along the coast.
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 U.S., I spent several years in the IT industry before returning to painting, earning an MFA in Painting from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
Since then, painting has become my full-time focus — an ongoing exploration of light, atmosphere, and the quiet presence of life along the coast.
My Coastal Light Series is represented by Sheldon Fine Art (Naples & Newport) and Thornwood Gallery (San Antonio).