The last time that I started nosing around info about Texas tattoo artists, I somewhat discovered the city of Austin. At the time, I had no idea what Austin’s tattoo scene was like but the more I learned, the more I realized that wow, Austin’s got a lot going on. So much good stuff was there that I now find that I have to delve back into the Texas Tattoo world, back to Austin to talk about another really great artist, Myke Chambers.
To say that Myke’s life has been a challenge up until this point is something of an understatement. Living off the streets and hopping freight trains at the age of 15, he soon fell into drugs and alcohol at the age of 17, living that lifestyle until the age of 30. Though Chambers has been tattooing for 15 years, he is the first to admit he’s only seriously been tattooing for 4 years. Prior to that, Chambers says his days as a tattoo artist were really more about “getting wasted than focusing on the art.”
Fortunately for Myke, he managed to completely change his life around. As of September 8th, 2005, Chambers has been drug and alcohol free. He is the owner of the Eternally Bound tattoo studio in Austin, Texas, although he is currently in the process of handing over the business to friend and Eternally Bound artist Keith Underwood. Myke’s plans for the future are to continue tattooing, travelling the world and learning. Learning and the willingness to learn is a major part of Myke’s life:
“Today I’m still growing and learning. I hope I continue to learn until the day I die. As soon as I think I know it all I’m done for…”
Myke says that within the last four years he’s had to somewhat relearn how to tattoo, as he spent 10 years taking the art form for granted. However, if you take a look at Myke’s art, you can immediately see how talented that he truly is. If this is the sort of art that he can produce while “relearning” his craft, then I can’t wait to see what else the future holds for Myke Chambers.
Right now over at PRICK magazine, there’s a really great interview with Myke where he talks about his life, how he got to where he is (it’s a really interesting story, I’ll guarantee you that much), his Eternally Bound shop, profiles on the artists at Eternally Bound, his own views on the Austin scene and a whole bunch more. Seriously, check it out.
Best of luck to Myke with all his pursuits, both personal and public, and congratulations on his four years (and counting) of sobriety. Peace.