Ichiro Suzuki

I chose Ichiro Suzuki as the 36th person for this blog. He is a Japanese professional baseball player who plays in the Major League Baseball for the Seattle Mariners. After I moved to England, I have hardly had chance to watch baseball games on TV. The British national sport, cricket, is a bit closer to the baseball. However I can’t enjoy cricket games as much because I don’t know the rules.

Cheryl Cole

I chose Cheryl Cole as the 35th person for this blog. She is the third judge of the X –factor in my blog (Simon Cowell: 10th, Dannie Minogue: 21st) Everyone in my family are huge fans of this programme. We normally finish our own chores before the programme starts and then we sit glued to the TV. However this year we are not so excited. The reason seems to be that we haven’t yet found our favourite performers to support.

Bruce Forsyth

I chose Bruce Forsyth as the 34th person for this blog. He was born in February 1928. Just watching him in the BBC’s ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, he doesn’t look like an 81 year-old man at all. Wearing smart clothes and moving very lightly, he makes me happy just looking at him, so I think he is a real entertainer.

Audrey Tautou

I chose Audrey Tautou as the 33rd person for this blog. When I made her portrait, I found it difficult to get rid of the image of her film ‘Amelie’. I wanted to make portrait of Audrey Tautou not Amelie. Every time I make portraits of actors and actresses, I feel they fall into two types. One type projects their own characters into their roles. The second type is like a blank canvas waiting to change character depending on their role. I think Audrey is the latter.

Keith Floyd

I chose Keith Floyd as the 32nd person for this blog. Almost 20 years ago when I travelled to Paris for the first time, I was completely taken by French food and I wanted to cook it on my own. I looked for a good recipe book in English there (I can’t read French). Finally I found his book called ‘Floyd on France’ from which I learnt to cook a lot of traditional French food. May he rest in peace.

Zhang Ziyi

I chose Zhang Ziyi as the 31st person for this blog. I like her action packed performances in ‘ C r o u c h i n g   T i g e r ,   H i d d e n   D r a g o n ’ and ‘Hero’, but my favourite is her first film ‘ T h e   R o a d   H o m e ’. In this film, she portrays a quieter, shy but strong willed character using her full range of facial expressions. I was inspired by this film to make her portrait.

Harrison Ford

I chose Harrison Ford as the 30th person for this blog. It was 1981 when the first Indiana Jones film ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ was released and he was in his 30s. When the 4th film ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ was released in 2008, he was in his 60s. Now, as I watch the two films again, I realize that he has gained more grey hair and weight, but his trade mark ‘toughness’ hasn’t changed at all.

Beyoncé Knowles

I chose Beyoncé Knowles as the 29th person for this blog. When I saw her singing ‘Crazy in Love’ in her live stage on TV for the first time, electricity ran through my whole body. Her dynamic performance immediately made me have a crush on her. My daughter, who was still little at the time, was inspired by her the same as me. She kept singing ‘Crazy in Love’ shaking her hips after the performance.

David Beckham

I chose David Beckham as the 28th person for this blog. Recently I have often seen him sitting on the substitute bench of the England national football team, which makes me a little bit sad. To me, he is the captain of the team with number 7 on his back. I hope he will show us his magnificent talent in the 2010 World Cup.

Victoria Beckham

I chose Victoria Beckham as the 27th person for this blog. When she was a member of Spice Girls I thought Victoria was very different to the other members. They looked more energetic and boisterous while Victoria was quiet and still. However, after she became solo I realized she is much livelier and more humorous than I thought. My image of her portrays ‘energy from the bottom of her heart’.

Fabio Capello

I chose Fabio Capello as the 26th person for this blog. He is the current manager of the England national football team. His stern way to manage the team and his deep wrinkles on his face remind me of strong revolutionaries or political leaders, so I made his portrait in more of a Cubo-futurist style. Will he be able to lead England national team to a victory in the 2010 World Cup?

Lily Allen

I chose Lily Allen as the 25th person for this blog. My daughter likes her songs very much and listens to her constantly at home, so I was soon able to hum her songs. In the past she was famous for getting drunk, insulting Elton John, using dirty words and kicking the paparazzi, but I made her portrait focusing on how she seems now - her more creative, sensitive side.

Ian Hislop

I chose Ian Hislop as the 24th person for this blog. I enjoy watching BBC’s ‘Have I Got News for You’ and I am always impressed by his wide knowledge and cleverness. In spite of that, his appearance is a kind of ‘easy going comic book character’ to me, so I made his portrait in that style.

Kate Moss

I chose Kate Moss as the 23rd person for this blog. I think her attractiveness is the combination of a face that is difficult to describe and a very skinny body. At first, I was surprised when I found out that many Britons think she is one of the icons of the UK. But thinking about it closely, I understand this might to be true. I made her portrait as fashion drawing style.

Gordon Ramsay

I chose Gordon Ramsay as the 22nd person for this blog. I like his style of cooking, always moving his body energetically around like a boxer. He is famous for his short temper and shouting obscenities to his staff, but underneath I think he is a professional man who really considers other people a lot. I don’t think it is possible to run Michelin stars restaurants purely for shouting obscenities.

Dannii Minogue

I chose Dannii Minogue as the 21st person for this blog. She is more familiar to me as a judge of The X-Factor than as a singer. I like her honest comments, which sometimes contradict those of Simon Cowell (please see number 10 of my blog). When she is moved by the songs she hears, tears well in her eyes and it makes tears well in my eyes too.

James May

I chose James May as the 20th person for this blog. He is best known as the co-presenter of the motoring programme ‘Top Gear’. But I also like the BBC’s food and travel programmes with wine writer Oz Clarke ‘Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure’ and ‘Oz and James Drink to Britain’. The banter between May and Clarke while they are drinking alcohol are very funny, it’s almost like watching a comedy.

Dawn French

I chose Dawn French as the 19th person for this blog. She is a British actress, writer and comedienne. I like the spoofs she and Jennifer Saunders performed in their BBC’s comedy sketch show ’French and Saunders’. Every time I see the film ‘Titanic’, I can’t help laughing because Leonardo DiCaprio looks just like Dawn French to me.

Lee Mead

I chose Lee Mead as the 18th person for this blog. He is best known as a winner of the BBC reality talent show ‘Any Dream Will Do’. I knew right from the start he would win and get the Joseph contract in the West End. I think he has a kind of charisma. As well as winning the contract, he also found his future wife at the same time. She is Denise van Outen (see my previous blog) who was on the competition panel.

Denise van Outen

I chose Denise van Outen as the 17th person for this blog. She is an English actress and television presenter. I saw her for the first time in the TV comedy drama ‘Babes in the Wood’. I immediately had a crush on her cheeky face. I also enjoyed her comments as the panelist of BBC reality talent show ‘How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?’, ‘Any Dream Will Do‘ and ‘I'd Do Anything’.

Michael McIntyre

I chose Michael McIntyre as the 16th person for this blog. He is a British standup comedian. I like his over exaggerated actions to express stories when doing his standup shows. He quickly moves up and down the stage, which gives me a dynamic and fast moving impression. Maybe that is the reason why he is my favourite standup comedian.

Setsuko Hara

I chose Setsuko Hara as the 15th person for this blog. She is a Japanese actress who starred in many Yasujiro Ozu’s films. When I was young I didn’t think she was pretty, but now as a 50 year-old I think she is very beautiful. I especially think this when she changes her expression from smiling and warm to cold and hard.

Tony Rice

I chose Tony Rice as the 14th person for this blog. He is a bluegrass musician and acoustic guitarist. He was my hero when I was a teenager over 30 years ago. Now many people have copied his style, but at that time I thought his playing was a mystery, an ability far beyond human nature. 

J.K.Rowling

I choose J.K.Rowling as the 13th person for this blog. I have only read the first Harry Potter book, but I have watched all 6 films. I think the reason many people all over the world like these stories is because they have everything people need such as adventure, dream, grief, death, heroism, friendship, power, weakness, fantasy, youth, courage, wisdom, love and family.

Lewis Hamilton

I chose Lewis Hamilton as the 12th person for this blog. I honestly don’t know anything about Formula One. I just wanted to make a portrait of this young, handsome, successful racer.

Amy Winehouse

I chose Amy Winehouse as the 11th person for this blog. I like her jazz-influenced songs and husky voice very much. Her appearance and her seemingly desperate lifestyle give me a feeling of mystery and spirituality, so I made her portrait like a genie who lives in a lamp.

Simon Cowell

I chose Simon Cowell as the 10th person for this blog. Sometimes I think his honest comments are just misconstrued as rude. I think I would rather blame the auditioners who often don’t know how little talent they have. I have emphasized his unnaturally white teeth on this portrait.

Catherine Tate

I chose Catherine Tate as the 9th person for this blog. She is a comedienne and actress. I like her schoolgirl ‘Lauren Cooper’ character because it is so well observed. ‘Lauren’ seems to be so like a real schoolgirl you might meet in some parts of London.

Boris Johnson

I chose Boris Johnson as the 8th person for this blog. He is now the London Mayor. I saw him in the handover ceremony at the Beijing Olympics. His hair was unruly, his jacket was unbuttoned and he stuck both his hands into his jacket pockets. To me he looked as nervous as a schoolboy despite occupying a significant position in the UK’s capital city.

Gong Li

I chose Gong Li as the 7th person for this blog. In 1992 I happened to study Chinese at Central Academy of Drama in Beijing where Gong Li studied and got the chance to become a professional actress. I realized there are many students in that school that were particularly good-looking. This is no surprise to anyone because they were chosen from millions of applicants from all over China.

Zinedine Zidane

I chose Zinedine Zidane as the 6th person for this blog. Just after the World Cup 2006 when he was sent off and Italy subsequently won the title, I went to Venice. On the wall of a shop there was a note that just said “Thanks Zidane”. I smiled when I saw it.

Leona Lewis

I chose Leona Lewis as the 5th person for this blog. I was surprised when I watched the handover ceremony in the Beijing Olympics, because I didn’t know she had become as famous as David Beckman and Jimmy Page. I think I might still be thinking of her as ‘Leona from the X factor’.

Ewan McGregor

I chose Ewan McGregor as the 4th person for this blog. I found it difficult to make his portrait because his face is very changeable, like a blank canvas ready to be filled with the colours of his next character. I think that this is how actors need to be. I also enjoyed his documentaries ‘Long Way Round’ and ‘Long Way Down’ about his journeys by motorbike because I could see his real character.

Nigella Lawson

I chose Nigella Lawson as the 3rd person for this blog. She just eats non-stop on her TV programme. Once on ‘Nigella Express’ I saw her eat a big cake from the fridge before she goes to bed. I realized that’s how she got her glamorous figure.

Jon Snow

I chose Jon Snow as the 2nd person for this blog. I like his unusual taste in ties and socks. I think they show a sharp contrast to his role as a serious world news reporter. I can’t help but wonder if he wears brightly coloured underpants too!

Susan Boyle

I chose Susan Boyle as the 1st person for this blog. When I saw her for the first time on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’, just like everyone else I was moved by her singing ability. It seemed to me that the significant contrast between her singing and her appearance was probably a shock for everyone but I believe this could be the reason for her initial success.