Sketching the Days by Sharon Himes

For each of the past three or four years Julia Hysom of Palmyra, Virginia, has filled a unique datebook illustrating her life. She began with a free datebook calendar from an advertiser and each page opens to reveal a month with weeks on each row. At first Julia wrote short notes of the day’s accomplishments in each day’s space then she began adding small sketches to each square. Eventually the sketches took dominance and the commentary necessarily more brief. The sketches usually illustrate what was of interest during the day: trips, observations or even news items. When there is nothing of importance to fill the day, she adds flowers or scenery. The sketches are created first in pencil then drawn with a very narrow gell point pen and tinted with colored pencils. The simplified style is influenced by the small size of each day’s square space.
During each day Julia asks herself ‘what am I to draw?’ and thinks about what she might choose to illustrate. “It makes me notice better” she says. She considers possible subjects, and watching carefully, she mentally composes a picture to draw from memory later in the evening. She keeps her datebook next to her chair and usually sketches in it while watching the news on television.

The small daily sketches are often reminders of the bits of life that are easily forgotten but fun to remember later. Planting in the garden, sorting the mail or lunching with a friend are illustrated with as much attention as museum visits, vacations or special events.

If nothing of interest happens in Julia’s life during the day, then the sketch might be something in the news. The death of Rosa Parks is illustrated as well as the Kentucky derby race. Rarely she leaves a space to fill in later but sometimes a scene takes over the space of two days. Extra spaces at the beginning or end the month are filled with sketches and often even the margins are full of pictures.

The resulting collection of colorfully illustrated datebooks are more than a collection of miniature sketches, they hold memories of the small happenings and important occasions in the artist’s life. While each day’s drawing may only take a few minutes, the resulting datebook is a year’s treasure.

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