RENEE ZELLWEGER GETS INTO THE WORLD OF BEATRIX POTTER

Renee Zellweger took drawing lessons and lived in the English countryside to play Beatrix Potter in Miss Potter.

Beatrix Potter who was born in 1866 in the leafy suburbs of London became entranced by the animals that lived there and took to drawing their figures to pass the time away.

Renee Zellweger is not as artistically inclined as the Tale of Peter Rabbit illustrator but did learn some of her unique style.

“I learned about the skills behind it, the technical. How do I put this? How to technically approach the work but I don’t have that skill. I mean I could get by. I could do some rough sketches here and there but I do not have that skill, absolutely not. I mean, to try to emulate her work is to learn how very precise and gifted she was.”

Every year the Potter family rented a cottage in the English Lake District where Beatrix lived out her life and became the owner of 4,000 acres of land which she left to the National Trust, a preservationist society in Britain.

“It’s just unbelievable. They’ve done such a great job of preserving that place. You can tell from the drawings, her drawings you can see where she sat. I mean so little has changed because they saw to it. Well she saw to it.”

While filming there, Renee got into the spirit of the peaceful tranquility which inspired many of Potter’s famous drawings of animals in their natural habitat.

With her hectic schedule it’s difficult for Renee to get back to visit the Lake District as much as she’d love to have a second home there. Her Miss Potter co-star Emily Watson spends family holidays in the pristine countryside and guarantees an affordable vacation.