Living In The Shadows

How do you start to communicate with others when you feel as if you have been living in the shadows of someone else’s fame and glory for the past 25 years.

My name is Laura, and I am an artist, a wife, a mother, a home wanna be designer/construction worker, a bit of a struggling gardener, and have been living in the shadows of my husband and his 31 year career in the Navy. Don’t get me wrong, he is the love of my life. Thom has flown helicopters, been all over the world, was instrumental in policy planning for our country, commanded the USS Ronald Reagan where he assisted in Operation Tomodachi, I could go on and on. If you know us, you would know that at least within our social circles, he is often sought out for his thoughts on so many subjects. He is articulate, historically and politically knowledgable, balanced in his opinions, a natural born leader, and oh so very charismatic. Wait, this blog is about me, right?!?!

I graduated from Moore College of Art and Design back in 1990 with a BFA in Fashion Illustration. I did a little retail advertising, but moved soon after into computer graphics. It really wasn’t until I was married with children that I found my true love of painting. 

I grew up in Springfield, Virginia, but the Navy lifestyle has obviously moved us around a lot. We have lived in San Diego, Charleston, Norfolk, Boston, Northern Virginia, and even Yokosuka, Japan. Now that my husband retired from the Navy, we moved to his original home state of Michigan, brrrr. With our two oldest attending Michigan State, it was hard to say no.

I secretly, or not so secretly, was happy that my husband finally retired from the Navy. No more moving and I get him home all the time now! Right … wrong :( After many months of job searching in the Grand Rapids area and coming up empty handed, he was suggested by a friend to apply for an executive job in Alexandria, Virginia. A year later he has been doing a great job with the company, but the distance is certainly taking it’s toll. I seriously need to dive back into my painting, I hope you enjoy seeing my progress as well.