Kelly Dewayne Richards is a prodigy on the piano so it made perfect sense that he performed while his friends sang for his birthday on November 13. Pilars Martini Bar (146 Plant Street Winter Garden FL) is located right next to the Winter Garden Theater and Kelly has been performing there once a week for the past couple of years. It seems that Kelly’s friends are not your average karaoke singers. These folks belted out the tunes with Broadway quality voices. Trudy Petersen was the singer who I decided to sketch. Love was brazened on her shirt and it was easy to love her voice. One singer introduced as “Joy Top Dance” sang a Louis Armstrong song, “What a Wonderful World“. She lowered her voice and managed to sing with Louis’s gravely vibrato.
As I was packing up to go, an artist named Rod Reeves introduced himself. We sat outside and shared sketchbooks. He sketches on location like myself so it was an unexpected surprise. He advised me to look up Francis Marshall, an English Illustrator. Marshal’s location sketches are fluid and bold with a flair of fashion. I could learn much studying his work. I collected a card from my fellow sketcher, but for the life of me, I can’t find it. Hopefully our paths will cross again. Inside the bar, every voice was singing “Seasons of Love” from Rent. With so much talent in the room, it was an inspired performance that could give the coldest heart a warm glow.
Mark your calendar. Kelly performs at Pilars every Thursday from 7pm to 10pm.