Calida Rawles (1976- ) is an American painter. She creates large paintings of Black individuals floating and swimming in water. These scenes gift Black people joy and ease that often is not present. Her work also evokes a sense of mourning, granting the viewers and her subjects a vessel for heavy emotions.  Rawles received a B.A. from Spelman College, Atlanta in 1998 and an M.A. from New York University in 2000.