George Tutuska

Since I first became cognizant of my surroundings, I have been overwhelmed by the staggering complexity of life and the senses it stimulates. I used to worry that I regularly saw things others couldn’t, so I would draw them to better explain to my mom what I was feeling. She always encouraged me, from the beginning, to see things in my own way.

I have no awards. I entered no contests. I drew with No. 2 pencils on lined paper until I turned 18, moved in with friends, and got involved in music.

Music defined me for decades, all the while I was painting and seeing things my way. I started a band with a friend I had met at a small local college. That band was the Goo Goo Dolls. I wrote and played on the first five recordings, including the triple-platinum A Boy Named Goo. I designed the cover artwork for the previous album, Superstar Car Wash, which garnered much respect from critics, both for the music and the cover artwork. Rolling Stone named it one of the top 100 covers of all time.

That’s the closest I have come to any sort of artistic recognition.