A watercolour painting of a Northern Cardinal perched atop a tree branch. The cardinal is light brown on the left side, and red on the right. Black ink was used for the outline of the bird, as well as some of its features (including the eyes, beak, and feet), and the tree branch. There are real cedar leaves attached to the branch on either side of the bird.

Halfsider

2025, watercolour, ink, fallen Eastern White Cedar leaves

This rare Northern Cardinal, known to some as a “halfsider” and others as a “bilateral gynandromorph” is living proof that nature doesn’t concern itself with the binary of male or female. This piece is a reminder that queerness exists in nature, and as part of the natural world, this queer magic exists in us humans too.