Creative bartering

Do you ever barter with friends? Years ago my friend Todd Peterson (www.artaviary.com) asked me to shoot slides of his work. I was willing to help out my friend but he felt bad for taking up my time so finally we settled on the idea of his painting my portrait. I chose a nice shirt to wear (hoping to look more dignified) but he told me he thought this flannel number was more authentic (sigh) so I sat for a few sittings and he took some polaroids of me to fill in the rest. After all these years (20?) I stand in awe of how much Todd captured my life in this painting. I’m usually a very easy-to-smile person but when I sat for this portrait I had just lost my brother to an awful battle with cancer and I was grieving. Todd later confided that the crow was to symbolize death that was hovering (my brother’s wife at the time was diagnosed with breast cancer the month he died) My husband and I had made a promise to my brother that we would be guardians of his three daughters (three flowers in the sky) if God forbid, his wife succumbed to cancer. We weren’t parents yet but Todd  intuitively knew that deep in my heart I also longed to have my own biological children and so nestled safely in my arm is another flower. I’m so happy to report that my sis-in-law is healthy and happy now almost 20 years since her diagnosis. I’m so glad that Todd captured that time in our lives in such a loving and insightful way. Thanks Todd for your amazing work!