My journey into Watership Down

In 2007, in late springtime, I was enjoying the views from the top of Old Winchester Hill. As I walked down the steep slopes, some rabbits ran for their holes. I suddenly remembered a picture book I was given for Christmas many years before and wondered whether the rabbits’ hill of the tale would look like that

When I went home, I did some searches on the internet and found out that Watership Down is a real place, and that the whole story took place in Southern England, in the beautiful countryside near Newbury, not too far from Southampton where I live.

This great discovery fascinated me, and I started to explore the area.

Several trips later, after walking the Downs for miles and taking hundreds of photos, I knew I could use my art to celebrate the novel. Some of the rabbits from my photos became the characters of the story. Guided by the passages in the book, I began to paint them, with the real landscape as a background.

What followed was incredible: in September 2007, I met Richard Adams and his wife Elizabeth. I showed them my first two paintings, Fiver’s vision and Across Newtown Churchyard. Richard loved them, but two small paintings didn’t seem quite enough to impress him, so I decided to paint more and to use bigger canvases.

Richard and I kept in touch. I sent photographs of my paintings with my letters. In September 2008 we met again, and I showed him another five paintings on large canvases.

It was decided on that day to organize an early exhibition of these first paintings in Whitchurch in November, in collaboration with the Whitchurch Arts Society. It proved successful, with a great response from the public, and I felt encouraged to carry on with my work.

Richard and I worked closely to create paintings true to the story–and enjoyed many Sunday lunches and afternoons together, talking of rabbits’ adventures….

He was determined to see an illustrated edition of Watership Down on the 40th anniversary in 2012, once a complete collection of pictures had been created.

And in 2012, his American publisher Simon & Schuster decided to go ahead, followed by other publishers around the world. Finally, in November 2014 the UK publisher Oneworld Publications released an English version for the British public.