This project was supposed to have a big finale – a video in which I laid out all 260 A4 portraits in a 20 x 13 grid to reveal the final portrait:

Henri Matisse, born 31 December 1869.  He was known as the master of colour, so it seemed fitting to piece together such a collage. Perhaps you guessed what I was doing with all those strange lines that kept appearing in the backgrounds. I even hinted at the 20 x 13 grid idea in the banner:

See, it was clever. At least one of you might have said ‘Ooh.’

Although this decision has been taken out of my hands, so to speak, I have to admit that I found portraiture a total pain in the arse. I don’t know why I thought I would enjoy it, or that it would be easier than previous projects. My excitement about it had evaporated by the middle of January, and artistically I think it had almost no merit whatsoever. I do these things because I think I should be concentrating my abilities somehow, but those abilities always fall short of what I expect. I used to think it was a given that by not living a conventional life I was bound to become some sort of mad creative genius, and that this would be compensation of sorts. Instead I learned, again, that putting yourself under time constraints might force you to be productive, but it rarely yields a quality result. When you’re looking at a portrait and thinking ‘That’ll have to do because I’ve run out of time’, you’re doing the wrong thing for the wrong reasons. So, that’s it. And if I ever say that I’m planning a year long project again, please – somebody – talk me out of it.

Graham Nunn will return in Octopussy.

David Cronenberg, born 15 March 1943. Pixel vomit.

Albert Einstein, born 14 March 1879. Watercolour.

William H Macy, born 13 March 1950. Digital sketch.

Liza Minnelli, born 12 March 1946. This one redefined tedium. I turned the photo black and white, then selected all the black areas and contracted the selection by five pixels, filled with a new colour, then repeated the process over 90 minutes or so until I reached the edges.

Thora Birch, born 11 March 1982. Pencil, recoloured on computer. I did this without plotting any points – just sketched straight from the reference. I was pretty pleased with it when I’d finished and thought my abilities must be improving. But then, after scanning it, I placed it over the photo to check its accuracy and it was a mile off. Everything is in the wrong place. And yet, it still looks like her – at least it does to me. So it seems as though there is a greater margin of error, in some faces, for capturing a likeness. My Laura Robson portrait didn’t look like her even though it was technically accurate, perhaps because she has a more generic face and the things that make her recognisable are more subtle. I suppose that’s pretty obvious – some people are more recognisable than others – but it appears that I’m only just grasping this.

James Van Der Beek, born 8 March 1977. Marker pen, fine liner and pencil.

Rachel Weisz, born 7 March 1970. Vector illustration.

Rob Reiner, born 6 March 1947. Watercolour on digital sketch.

Penn Jillette, born 5 March 1955.