The National Trust and Newlyn School of Art are joining up to offer painting workshops celebrating a number of the coastal sites and conservation work in far West Cornwall.

The first one day courses will be held at Boscregan Farm, near Land’s End, on Sunday, July 2 and 9, starting at 10am.

This site is home to a rare and beautiful wild flower called Purple Viper’s Bugloss which is most commonly seen in Southern and Western Europe, North Africa and beyond. It is very rarely seen in Cornwall, but careful conservation techniques and work with the tenant farmer has encouraged this plant to grow in great numbers. In late June/early July they are out in full bloom, interspersed with yellow corn marigolds.

Purple Viper’s Bugloss has probably grown at Boscregan for centuries, but it was first recorded there in 1873. When the National Trust acquired the land in 1995, the number of plants in each field could be counted individually. Nowadays, it has become impossible to count individual plants and the team have to estimate how many thousands of them are in each field. The National Trust and its tenant farmer have been so successful in saving Boscregan’s rare arable weeds that great swathes of purple and yellow are now visible from as far away as Land’s End during the summer.

The one day workshops are open to all levels of experience and will be tutored by talented local artist Imogen Bone, one of the most highly-regarded coastal painters working in Cornwall today.

The course will take place at the farm, and begin with a walk and talk from the area ranger about their work and the plants. Imogen will then take participants through various water based mixed media painting techniques and processes. Imogen is very knowledgeable about colour and will help students to create vibrant mixed media studies in response to the striking colour of the fields in full bloom.

To book your place or for more information, visit https://newlynartschool.co.uk/courses/national-trust/