"We always like to something different for our customers," he said.
The Samaans certainly accomplished that goal with this artist.
Shields, of Dry Ridge, said he discovered he was ambidextrous only 10 years ago at the age of 30.
"My penmanship was bad, and I wanted to see if maybe I could do better with my left hand," he said. "When I tried writing with my left hand, I found I could write much better with it. So I thought, maybe I can draw with it, too."
After Mikey discovered he could draw just as well with his left hand as his right, he wanted to keep using that hand.
"But it felt really natural with my right hand, too, so I thought, 'Why not use them both?'"
Mike and Amanda Abnear, and their 3-year-old daughter, Madison, had their caricatures sketched by Mikey at J.D. Legends on Feb. 26, and they were amazed at how well the artist had captured their likenesses.
"That's me, that's me," said Madison as she jumped up and down in excitement.
"It's just awesome - he's great," said Amanda Abnear.
Zachary Thornbury, 6, was a touch shyer than Madison, and wasn't exactly sure he was going to like being the subject of a sketch. As he posed for Mikey, he was also poised to bolt from the chair.
But his parents, Russ and Bridgette Thornbury of Nicholasville, thought the sketch was a great idea.
"We can't wait to see it," Russ said.
Mikey has been drawing caricature sketches for the past 30 years, and has a Kiosk in Fayette Mall in Lexington where he also does sketches.
"I have always done this, I just like making people happy," he said. "And they love it."
He has been working at festivals and shopping malls, and has perfected his skills drawing front views as well as side views, drawing both sides of a face as well as the funny bodies. He started going to an international caricature competition, and placed most humorous in the world six years in a row.
Mikey can be found at J.D. Legends on Monday nights.
He can be reached at twohandedmikey@aol.com.
