Tove Lo has a large tattoo on her upper left arm of a girl riding a bumblebee from the Mark Ryden painting Clear Hearts, Grey Flowers.

The tattoo reminds her of the times she spent in her first band called Tremblebee. “I used to have black hair and bangs when I was in that band, and since it was my first band that I was part of it meant so much to me. I had my first gigs with that band,” she told Arena. “Then I found this painting of Mark Ryden’s that I really enjoyed, he’s an American painter who’s super talented. I saw this picture and I’m like ah, that just goes straight to my heart, so I decided to put it all over my arm.”

The painting was created to be the cover of alternative rock band Jack Off Jill’s 2000 album Clear Hearts, Grey Flowers.  Jack Off Jill’s lead singer Jessicka Addams came up with the concept for the artwork and the based this particular character off of herself. However it seems that Tove Lo didn’t know that the painting was designed for an album cover. In an instagram post, Addams explained that she was flattered by the tattoo, even it is was unintentional. She writes: “[Tove Lo] happens to have (unknowingly) my face on her arm. This image is from a painting by Mark Ryden created to become Jack Off Jill’s “Clear Hearts, Grey Flowers” album cover released on July 18th 2000. It doesn’t upset me that the singer claims to know nothing of this album, but it does exist.”

This was her second tattoo and it’s much larger than her first, which was the scorpion on her chest. “I went from that to this big one, this Mark Ryden painting,” she says in a YouTube vlog. “I remember after I did this one I was kinda like ‘Fuck. What did I just do? It’s over my whole arm.’ But now it’s just part of my body.”

Daniel Åhs Karlsson / CC-BY

About 700 people, I kid you not have sent me images of Tove Lo's tattoo in 2015. Tove Lo played "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2016" She happens to have (unknowingly) my face on her arm. This image is from a painting by Mark Ryden created to become Jack Off Jill's "Clear Hearts, Grey Flowers" album cover released on July 18th 2000. It doesn't upset me that the singer claims to know nothing of this album, but it does exist. I think it just hit me, "HEY world you just saw something that I concept sketched & Mark painted. This was created more than 16 years ago and seen during a huge NYE television special for millions to watch. That's pretty neat. It's the small victories and the people you get to share them with in 2016! Thanks Mark, Tove, & the members of Jack Off Jill – Happy 2016. -JA

A photo posted by Jack Off Jill (@jackoffjill) on Jan 3, 2016 at 9:43am PST

Celebrity: Tove Lo

Subject:Bee Portrait

Placement:Upper Arm

Theme:Art Career Mark Ryden

Style:New School

Tattoo Artist:Infamous Studio

posted by Linda on November 9, 2014

5 Comments

1. Never mind, I’m drunk. I re-read the article and found the artist’s name.

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2. What is the name of the artist who did that painting? They did a mural in downtown Flagstaff, AZ, and I MUST know who they are!

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3. I wonder if She’s even listen to the album that Painting was done for. I was severely disappointed after reading this tid-bit.

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   • Nope.

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   • Why would it matter if she knew the history of the painting. We are someimes called by our intuition. Some listen to that call, others may not. WHo are you to judge?

     Reply