Kelly Rowland

I chose Kelly Rowland as the 43rd person for this blog. The X factor 2011 has come to an end with Little Mix as winners yesterday. I wasn’t as excited this year as I have been in previous years. I don’t know if the reason for this was because of the judges or the contestants. I was very excited in the beginning but after boot camp, I felt like many talented people left. Anyway, I think Kelly’s sparkly character has added a warm feeling to this show.

Annie Lennox

I chose Annie Lennox as the 42nd person for this blog. When I was young, the minute I heard the Eurythmics, I became a huge fan. I remember that I got a very European feeling from her music and her strong voice. When I heard Beyoncé sing Sweet Dreams at the 2011 Glastonbury festival, I realised I hadn’t made her portrait, so here it is!

Steven Tyler

I chose Steven Tyler as the 41st person for this blog. I enjoyed his work as a judge of American Idol that just finished this weekend. For me for 30 years his image has always been that of the hard man, the vocalist of Aerosmith. This time I think I saw his humorous side.

Prince William & Kate Middleton

I chose Prince William & Kate Middleton as the 40th people for this blog. I'm watching their wedding on TV now. This is an exiting moment!

I heard that Japanese prince and princess couldn’t accept their wedding invitation because of the recent disastrous earthquake in the country. What a shame! I made their portrait in a bit of a Japanese style. 

Morecambe & Wise

 I chose Morecambe & Wise as the 39th person for this blog. They are my favourite comedy duo. I think their comedy is very funny because they are also skilled singers, dancers and performers as well as comedians. I sometimes miss the old days when I watched TV with my family in Japan and we were beside ourselves with laughter.  I believe that recent comedies have become more venomous. Nowadays when I watch Morecambe and Wise, I can remember my childhood.

Ellie Goulding

 I chose Ellie Goulding as the 38th person for this blog. My favourite song at this moment is her version of Elton John’s ‘Your Song’. I think her clear voice suits this song perfectly. I hope both Ellie and this optimistic song can cheer up anyone who is going through a hard time.

Rebecca Ferguson

 I chose Rebecca Ferguson as the 37th person for this blog. The X-factor finished on this Sunday. Matt Cardle won, but I made a portrait of Rebecca. I fell in love with her stunning voice which never fails to move people. I bet she will be a real diva in the future.

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.