Feeling The Energy
Award-winning artist and photographer Gosha Gibek created the nativity scene for the front cover of this issue of Live Ribble Valley. Here she explains what inspires her and how a rare condition allows her to feel the energy of colour
Having created the compilation photograph on the cover of this issue of Live Ribble Valley, artist Gosha Gibek went on to replicate the image, the Miracle at the Keep, in her unique style with a painting on canvas.
“I am using ink for vibrancy,” explains Gosha, who was born and raised in Poland. She wanted to become an artist from an early age and went on to pursue her dream studying art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw, Poland.
After completing her studies, she travelled to Spain where she spent three years: “It was an unforgettable experience, one where I was able to make a living as an artist. I feel very privileged to make a living out of something I love.”
During her years in Spain Gosha travelled extensively: “I was able to travel to parts of Spain I never thought I would see. I visited the original house of Salvador Dali and I was also able to learn and evolve as an artist,” adds Gosha, who conducts painting workshops.
Moving to the UK almost two decades ago, Gosha who lives in Clitheroe, has built a successful career, capturing sporting moments, people’s favourite places, memories and achievements in beautiful colours.
Part of Gosha’s success lies in a rare phenomenon called synaesthesia in which the brain links a person’s senses together: “It is like a blending of the senses,” she says. People with synaesthesia, for example, might see a certain colour in response to a certain letter of the alphabet.
“For me, one sense triggers another. I can taste sounds and hear colours – colour will sing to me. My senses are connected – I can sense the energy of colour. I mainly see words in colour – every letter has its own unique hue with each letter in the alphabet having its own colour. The first letter gives the rest of the word a colour scheme. ‘A’ is always bright orangey-red, ‘E’ is blue and translucent, just like the sky on a sunny day, while ‘O’ shines bright like a light bulb.
“I see colours everywhere, my mind is constantly looking for them, even in the dullest place. Lancashire may look dull and grim for many but to me, a grey roof will look cyan blue after it has rained.”
While synaesthesia is rare, as an artist Gosha feels blessed: “I consider it a gift that means I can perfectly capture people in motion or a vibrancy of objects and texture. My aim is to create inspirational art and to pass on the positive energy I draw from vibrant colours, helping to give people a ‘feel good’ vibe of happiness and joy.
“I don’t consider synaesthesia as a negative thing. On the contrary, it enhances my visual experience of the world.”
Gosha primarily creates sport and landscape art – her sports paintings capture cyclists, runners, rock climbers and rugby players in motion: “Using a household gloss paint, dripped freely from a pallet knife onto a surface, allows me to create people in motion – it has become my trademark. Once dripped it flows and I allow it to take direction.”
Living in the Ribble Valley Gosha finds an abundance of inspiration in the surrounding landscape: “Clitheroe is a very special place – it’s like living in a bubble with the castle keep as the pinnacle. I believe it has a special energy. When you are up at the keep you can see the whole town laid out before you and with Pendle Hill, it is almost like the town is cradled within the hills, cut off from the rest pf the world by the rivers. It is unique, and very rural – I feel a lot of green energy.”
goshagibek.com
goshagibekart.etsy.com
