The Oma Forest

Agustín Ibarrola’s Painted Forest – Where Art Meets Nature

  1. Nestled in the heart of the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve near Kortezubi, Bizkaia, the Oma Forest—also known as the Painted Forest or “Bosque Animado”—stands as one of the world’s most beloved examples of land art. Conceived and created by Basque artist Agustín Ibarrola beginning in 1982, this extraordinary open-air museum transforms nearly 800 pine trees into a living, shifting canvas using vibrant colors, geometric patterns, and figural illusions. Ibarrola’s approach breaks from traditional perspective, spreading his compositions across multiple tree trunks so that complete images emerge only from specific viewpoints, encouraging visitors to move, discover, and interact with the art. The result is a magical dialogue between creativity and the landscape, where art and nature coexist in ever-changing harmony.

Oma Forest

Agustín Ibarrola standing in a pine forest with a painted yellow arrow on a tree trunk

Agustín Ibarrola, renowned Basque artist, pauses among his painted trees in the celebrated Oma Forest.

 

Tree trunks painted with blue and purple shapes, spirals, and diagonal stripes in Oma Forest.

Blue and purple motifs add vibrancy to the pines, blending abstraction and nature in the Painted Forest.

 

Pine tree trunks in the Oma Forest decorated with purple spiral and striped patterns.

Purple spiral stripes encircle tree trunks, adding mystical energy to the Basque landscape.

 

Pine trees painted with vertical red stripes and yellow diamond shapes along a forest path.

Bright red and yellow geometric shapes energize the path through Agustín Ibarrola’s Painted Forest.

 

Pine forest with trunks painted in zigzag white lines and deep red shapes in the Oma Forest.

White zigzag and red markings on Oma Forest pines reveal Ibarrola's creative play with depth and perspective.

 

Pine forest scene with tree trunks painted in vertical and diagonal stripes of bright colours.

Vivid stripes of yellow, red, green, blue, and white cover tree trunks, transforming nature into a living artwork.

 

Pine trees in the Oma Forest painted with multicoloured horizontal and diagonal bands.

Bright, multicoloured bands enliven the pine trunks, showcasing Ibarrola’s signature style in the Painted Forest.

 

Pine trees in the Oma Forest with zigzag white painted lines on their trunks.

Zigzag white lines painted on tree trunks create visual pathways through the verdant Oma Forest.

 

Tree trunks in Oma Forest painted with large interlocking white circular bands

White rings stretch across pine trunks, creating a seamless optical illusion amid the greenery.