Painters are often solitary creatures. Creating a piece of art out of a blank canvas takes time, effort and typically, a lot of thought. It’s natural then that this process is typically done in isolation, where the freedom to think and create can be found within the confines of one’s home or studio.

At the Art Ovation Hotel, however, the Artist in Residence series gives anyone who wanders through the hotel lobby the chance to get an inside look at an artist’s process. This week’s Artist in Residence is Venice-based painter Karen Chandler, who is bringing bright colors and vintage pop-inspired acrylic works to the hotel from February 5 to March 2.

Chandler’s works in the show—in addition to the work that she is creating over the course of this week—depict fashionable, confident women in a vibrant aesthetic reminiscent of Andy Warhol’s portraiture. Girl in flowers and butterflies, for example, is a highly colorized portrait of a woman surrounded by flora and fauna.

“I like to paint women that I feel are strong and independent,” said Chandler. “They’re powerful, but yet they’re dressed well and have a sense of fashion about them. I want to create works that inspire the viewer to take on new challenges in life and look great while doing it.”

The paintings in Chandler’s show at Art Ovation were created in the last few years and represent a stylistic shift for the artist. Chandler, a 2021 Fellow of the Hermitage Artist Retreat, has forged a career as a multi-faceted artist and illustrator, creating oil paintings for the NASA and United States Air Force Art programs and designing covers for countless novels, including R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series.

After moving to Florida from New York City eight years ago, however, Chandler’s color palette changed dramatically.

“I lightened up as an artist,” said Chandler. “I feel like the colors of my paintings are reflective of Florida—there are all of these bright, beautiful colors all around us, especially in the sky and the flowers. From that, my style changed from tight realism to a more vintage pop aesthetic that I find much more fun to create in.”

February 25 to March 2, 4pm-8pm, Art Ovation Hotel, 1255 North Palm Ave, Sarasota.

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