Doug Cox and Chris Proctor, plus Vladimir Zhikhartsev workshop... coming in September

Doug Cox and Chris Proctor

Saturday, September 1

Seldovia is very lucky to have two musical masters together on stage this fall. Canadian songwriter, slide guitar and dobro player Doug Cox has been hailed by the Boston Globe as ‘one of the world’s most expressive dobro players.’ While Doug’s music is grounded in the traditions of the blues and bluegrass, he is always heading out into new musical directions. In his most recent CD, Slide to Freedom, he joins Indian mohan veena player Salil Bhatt to create a cross culture blend of ragas and Delta blues. Doug’s previous album, Hungry Ghosts, was a collaboration with blues guitarist Sam Hurrie that was nominated as 'Blues CD of the Year' by the Western Canadian Music Awards.

Doug has fronted many groups and worked as a sideman with Canadian bluesman Ken Hamm, American songwriter Chuck Brodsky, British blues icon Long John Baldry, and most recently, guitarist Amos Garrett. Doug teaches and has developed his own dobro instructional video and book series. His music has been featured on A&E, the Discovery Channel, CBC National Radio and NBC. A successful recording artist, Doug also plays festivals, clubs and concerts in venues as diverse as the Montreal Jazz Festival and New York’s Baseball Hall of Fame. And he performed right here in Seldovia last fall.

A dobro, by the way, is a guitar with a metal resonator set into the body, originally developed in the 1920s to create a sound that could stand up to the banjos, saxophones and trumpets that dominated popular music of the day. The dobro is held across the knees and played with a slide and fingerpicks. It’s a great sounding instrument … come hear it!

Appearing with Doug is Chris Proctor, one of the world’s elite fingerstyle composers, arrangers and performers. Chris has an innovative approach to the world of instruments steel-string fingerstyle guitar. Critics find it hard to describe Chris’s playing without launching into superlatives such as ‘breathtaking’ and ‘exquisite’. He’s often compared to Leo Kottke and Michael Hedges, and his intricate playing has earned him the label of ‘the only Baroque fingerpicker’. His compositions are original in every sense, spanning the spectrum of folk, jazz, pop, classical and ethnic music. "Haunting slide, spectacular writing, killer contrapuntal chops and sensitive articulation reconfirm that Proctor's in a league with the Peter Fingers and Martin Simpsons of the world." (Guitar Player). Chris has produced 10 CDs, plus books, DVDs and videos. He has played concerts and festivals all over the country. He lives in Salt Lake City with his wife, his dog, and many many guitars.

Vladimir Zhikhartsev Watercolor Workshop
September 21, 22, 23

Please register for this workshop by September 1 by calling 234-7614 or email rowing@ptialaska.net

Spend three pleasurable days in Seldovia learning watercolor technique from a classic painter who specializes in European-Russian style watercolor. Vladimir Zhikhartsev will join us from Fairbanks, where he teaches watercolor and acrylic painting and drawing. Vladimir is an experienced teacher who uses clear instructions and daily demonstrations to help you master values, color, composition and other basic concepts in watercolor painting. This is also a great opportunity to develop your skills in designing and composing a painting. You’ll find lots of encouragement to help you gain a loose, confident style. This workshop is appropriate for the serious beginner to intermediate level student. There will be three days of instruction, September 21, 22, and 23, from 10 am to 4 pm with a break for lunch. There is a fee of $185.


Zhikartsev was born in Russia in 1960 and graduated from Pospolitaki Art College, in the Black Sea region. He lived in Provideniya for 11 years, before moving to Fairbanks where he specializes in watercolor, acrylic and oil painting. His work has won numerous awards in Russian exhibitions, and is on permanent display at the Museum of Provideniya. He has shown his art in galleries in Anchorage and Fairbanks and has won numerous juried watercolor shows. Vladimir is a member of the Fairbanks and Alaska Watercolor Societies.

Vladimir teaches painting in the summer, but his winters are devoted to ice sculpting. Since 1991 he has won 14 Gold Medals in the World Ice Art Championships. He has participated in Olympic Ice Arts Festivals in Salt Lake City and Turin Italy.

Call the Seldovia Arts Council for details… 234-7614
Box 41, Seldovia 99663
Or email: rowing@ptialaska.net
www.xyz.net/~seldarts