In Sharon Killian’s “Tower of Power,” a swath of warm yellow cuts verticallya skyscape of blues and grays.

It’s almost impossible not to consider it a ray of sunshine in an otherwise rather bleak- just as ’s easy consider the patch of blue sky a promise of better weather to come.

Killian, who came to farm life in Fayetteville by way of New York City and Washington, D.C., doesn’t see it that way.

For her, the abstract skyscape, created in dry pastel on watercolor paper, was perfect. She calls the yellow swath an “interruption.”

“Part of it for me is to go beyond what could be perfection in my eyes and try to interrupt it as I believe life happens,” she says. Her addition is intended to say: “Life changes. This changes.

And when I’m done with it, it’s going to be even better.”

When Killian talks about her life, it’s easy to see where that attitude comes from.

She was born and lived in Jamaica until she was almost 12, then moved to New York City with her immigrant parents.

“From Jamaica in February, where I thought it was cold at 70-something, to the coldest day in the history of New York City, at least for several years,” she remembers, the lilt of herchildhood still in her voice.

Instead of being horrified, she fell immediately in love.

“It was beautiful - the lights, the reflections off the snow - it was magical,” she says. “All the stories you hear about streets paved with gold? It was almost literal in the scene of it.”

Killian’s father was a master cabinet maker, and her love for lines comes from him, she reveals. Her love color is her own.

“I’ve always seen the color and it pops up in my work.

I have a small series named ‘Jamaica Blue,’ which is the memory of the blue I saw early in the morning when I got up to do chores.”

Moving to New York City was a blessing forthe budding artist, who wandered world-class collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

“My parents were fairly strict, you know? You had to do your chores before you could do anything else. I’d work my buns off to make sure I would be able to go to my class at MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) on Saturday morning. The galleries were always available and open. I was drawn to it.”

But Killian went off to the University of Rochester (N.Y.) intending to be a physician, attending on a full academic scholarship.

“I was a good student. I wanted to help my family,” she says.

Eventually, she realized it was “not where my heart was. I finally accepted my fate, which was wonderful.”

Killian worked in fields related to medicine and education, handling student relations for the Association of American Medical Colleges and assisting the president of New York Medical College before signing on to substitute as an art teacher at a private school. She knew she had found the other half of her calling.

“Kids are so rich. They have so much to give in so many ways,” she says. “I’m glad to be able to say I was able to draw some people out - no pun intended.

I sent a few kids off to college with very impressive portfolios.”

Killian came to Fayetteville with the love of her life, her

husband Charles.

“His folks were getting on

in years, and his father had

been asking him to come

back. When I moved here, it

was perfect for me. I needed

the space in my head, and

the land and the sky - I said

to my husband, such a big

beautiful sky. Amazing!

“The sky, the landscape

over the past several years

have just captured me. Every

day, I’m intensely involved in

it visually and artistically.” Killian is on the board of

the Fayetteville Underground

and mentors other artists

whenever she can, but she

spends as much time as she

can painting.

“Art takes me away from

all of the other stuff and

centers me. It makes me

small.

“Intensity brings me to

whatever ends up in the

frame.”

Whats Up, Pages 15 on 01/03/2014