Mitsuhiko Sasao, known as the painter of red, provided us with the illustrations for this year’s 2018 Hobonichi Whiteboard Calendar. From the moment we asked him to illustrate the numbers, he was ecstatic. Sasao practically turned into a ball of energy and dove headfirst into the project.

He told us, “These numbers are my self portrait.” But what could that possibly mean? We talked with him and heard all about his debut as an artist at 56 years old and the colorful stories that followed. We bring you this interview in four parts. The interview is by Hobonichi team member Okuno.

(Sasao has also provided us with the artwork for one of the 2018 Hobonichi Techo covers. It’s definitely worth checking out!)