Aruna Rao

This painting won the Honorable Mention award in the Oil Painters of America (OPA) 2019 Summer Online showcase and was juried into the OPA 2019 Western Regional show. This painting was done from a study and photo I took at the Garden of the Gods Park, Colorado at dawn. It was a glorious scene with the first rays of sunrise illuminating the red rocks, the Pikes Peak mountains in the background and the orange moon starting to descend behind the peaks. From an artist's perspective, I was excited to capture this early morning scene, as it allowed me to explore a range of tonal values to depict the beautiful light, shadows, shapes, and color!

A study of a mountain rural vista in Carbondale, Colorado

This painting was inspired from my visit to Westcliffe which is a quaint little town at the base of the magnificent Sangre De Cristo Mountains in Colorado. As I wandered through this town taking in the many wonderful sights of the simple life existing in harmony with the grand nature around it, I felt overcome by a sense of calm and joy. I wanted to capture that simple, untouched beauty and feel of this place in my painting.

This painting was a finalist at the 14th International ARC Salon Competition I usually like to set out early in the morning or later in the evening on my scouting trips, as I find the light to be quite beautiful during those times. This painting was inspired from a trip to Steamboat Springs, a beautiful ranch town in Colorado. The distant hills bathed in the early morning sunrise instantly caught my eye and I knew that this scene would make for beautiful landscape composition. I came upon this scene quite by accident and I am glad I did. One of the joys of being a landscape artist ... you never know what is around the bend!

My favorite things to paint - Light, Color and Temperature shifts!… Came upon this beautiful evening scene while heading back home from a hike in Estes Park, Colorado.

This painting will be exhibited at Settler's West Gallery in Tucson, AZ for the WAOW 50th jubilee anniversary and juried art exhibition.

I love painting the rural landscape and this particular painting was done from a series of photos I shot at Victor, a small mining town located in the southwest Pikes Peak region of Colorado. This area has some great old structures and barns which have a distinct feel and character to them. In this painting, I combined various elements from different photos to come up with an interesting composition. I wanted the focal area to be the beautifully weathered barn but also wanted to capture the clear day and the melting spring snow, the light, and the overall atmosphere of the place.

This painting was a finalist at the AWA 2019 Spring Showcase https://americanwomenartists.org/gallery/2019-spring-online-juried-show.html It is an exhilarating feeling looking down at sweeping vistas from higher ground. Colorado's mountainous terrain offers many such views and vantage points. During a trip to Cripple Creek, a historic mining town in Colorado, I came upon this panoramic view of the town below which was backlit from the beautiful evening light. I wanted to capture the view and the light in this painting.