From Street Art to Sleeve Art: The Story Behind Sola Rosa’s New Tomorrows
The New Tomorrows cover art is by Askew One—aka Elliot O’Donnell—a New Zealand-born, Portland-based artist whose background is rooted in street art and graffiti. Over the years, his work has expanded to include painting, illustration, digital media, video, and more recently, AI-generated art, which he creates by training his own models.
I first came across Elliot’s work on Instagram while working on the Chasing The Sun album and was drawn to his style and versatility. He quickly understood the direction I had in mind, which made collaborating on this project straightforward and enjoyable.
While Askew created the core artwork for New Tomorrows, the final touches on the cover and full vinyl packaging were handled by Junior (aka Jaime Robertson), my long-time design collaborator. His contribution often ties the whole visual identity together.
Interestingly, both Elliot and Jaime went to the same high school, so they’ve known each other for years.
Although New Tomorrows was originally planned as a digital-only release, the artwork felt particularly suited to a physical format. After receiving a number of requests, we decided to move ahead with a vinyl pressing. It’s a limited run and looks great in person—so if you’re thinking of grabbing a copy, now’s the time.
Grab the New Tomorrows EP on vinyl.
Check out more of Elliot’s work – Website / Instagram