Birdfish: 8 Questions with the Artist

Spanking Artist Interview
Written By Miss Gin

Welcome back to Wednesdays with Gin. Every Wednesday I share a new post on Smiles and Spanks. This week’s post features my 8 question interview with the wonderfully talented artist, Birdfish.

1. When you first began drawing spanking art, was it inspired by something you had experienced, something you wanted to experience, or simply an idea that captured your imagination? What was it about that original idea or experience that made drawing feel like the natural way to explore it, or, if it came from an actual memory, a way to capture that moment?

Other than hidden doodles which were later binned, two independent circumstances prompted me to start drawing spanking art in a continuous and permanent way.

The first was that I bought myself an iPad and an Apple pencil and started learning how to use Procreate! At the time, I was still nervous about having spanking-related stuff about for fear of it being seen or found somehow (nowadays, I couldn't care less!), so digital drawing allowed me to make whatever I wanted and store it away in my private device.

The second is a little weirder! I was in a long-term online-based spanking relationship that ended in the summer of 2019. I was pretty devastated by it, so in Autumn I departed from the online universe to explore the physical Toronto scene! By winter, I had come to terms with my break-up, and when I got the iPad and started thinking about drawing spanking, the first things I thought to put down were some of the 'digital memories' I had from my previous relationship and some of the feelings it evoked.

2. Autumn and especially Halloween themes seem to feature quite often in your artwork, particularly in your Spanktober series. What is it about that time of year that draws you to it so much? Is it the colors, the coziness, the changing atmosphere, or something a little more magical about it?

I'm just gay and love Halloween! (haha) I haven't thought about this very much before now, but there is something about the season that makes me feel more creative, free, and magical. And when Inktober (the drawing challenge in vanilla-land that Spanktober is inspired from, in which drawing prompts are created for every day in October) comes around, I naturally start feeling the motivation to rise to the occasion. Conveniently, there seems to be a bit more time in Autumn for me to hunker down and create, as opposed to busy summers when I want to be outdoors, or the hectic winter holiday season.

I also just aesthetically enjoy Halloween, spooky, and witchy decor year-round, so it's fun and easy to come up with the little details that bring a scene to life! I have done nothing this Autumn though, so far, and it's bumming me out! I have 13 days of Spanktober prompts to catch up on! Whoops!

3. You’ve said that daydreaming is your superpower. How much of your artwork begins with simply letting your mind wander, and how often does a daydream turn into something you sit down and draw? What makes one of those ideas stick around long enough to become a drawing?

When I was a kid, I'd spend a lot of my time reading or imagining myself into universes nobody else could see but which felt really real to me. I'd wander down a creek alone and imagine I was on a quest to escape some strict orphanage, or I'd build secret dens and mix potions in hollowed tree-stumps. These daydreams cocooned me in imagined safety, adventure, and belonging when I needed them most. And then as I grew, I never really stopped doing these kinds of things or letting myself believe in magic, which landed me with a really rich inner-world, I think. It helps me with any art I'm making including spanking art!

I can spend hours kinda drifting into a daydream which can inspire a certain mood or aesthetic that I want to put down 'on paper'! Sometimes, like many others I'm sure, it's reading a book, seeing some film or TV series, or even a certain pose someone's in that makes an idea click into place and set the scene for a drawing I want to make!

I also have ADHD, and that kinda plays into my art practice in both positive and negative ways! Sometimes, I can find it impossible to just sit down and draw something if I'm not feeling inspired. But other times, I can start and hyper-fixate into a trance that flows out into a drawing effortlessly. I think my best work is something that comes from that space rather than something I'm feeling pressured or stressed out about making thought I've learned it's important to master both.

4. Does where you are influence what you want to draw, whether it's the season, the surroundings, or the atmosphere? And are you the type of artist who likes to have something with you to draw wherever you happen to be, or do your drawings usually happen when you have the time and space to settle into them?

Absolutely! During the Covid lockdowns, I spent a great deal of my time wandering the woods near my house, building a den from fallen tree branches, and getting really comfortable with the forest. After vaccines, I was able to travel to the UK to visit my Domme, and was massively inspired by the nature there whilst swimming in the sea, hiking amongst ancient trees, and diving under waterfalls. I go back there every year, but you can see the sea and woods magic seeping into a lot of my spanking drawings.

I do like to carry drawing utensils, a sketchbook, and my iPad around with me wherever I go! Admittedly, I think I like the idea of drawing on-the-go more than I actually end up doing it. I try to make some drawings on the train whilst traveling, I try to sketch at spanking parties, but I often can't get focused or comfortable enough to make anything very good. I definitely do better when I have time and space to settle into an idea than on-the-fly. I want to get better at it though, so I'll keep on trying! :)

The one time I do feel like it's useful to have everything on me is if I'm just chilling at a close friend's and something pops into my head that I feel I must get down. Sometimes when it strikes you, you just have to draw or you'll lose the moment. That's happened a few times for sure!

5. There is often something dreamlike or whimsical about your artwork, and at times it has a quality that feels almost like magical realism. Is that a way you think about your own work, or would you describe what you are doing differently?

Yes, I'd describe it as magical realism for sure. I think there's magic in each of us and everywhere around us in nature, really. There's so much cruelty and discord in the world, and I think whimsy, being in touch with your inner-child, or visualizing a magic that you can feel but maybe can't see, is an act of resistance and resilience through hope and joy.

Maybe there are spaces in nature or in our brains that can not be controlled, commodified, or suppressed if we don't want them to be. Maybe there are secret magic places we can escape to when things feel bleak.

The universe of spanking also can sometimes require a suspension of disbelief and the ability to place yourself into a universe in which certain rules that don't necessarily 'exist' are decidedly made to apply. Power exchange can be an exercise in the creation of a kind of world with another person. I hope people like to imagine themselves in those worlds through my drawings.

6. You take custom requests as well as creating your own artwork. How different is it to draw something because someone else has asked you to, compared to creating something that comes from your own imagination or your own experience?

It's extremely different, but I think it also depends on the type of custom! There are always going to be customs you connect with more or less. I always strive to make someone feel Seen in their custom work and transported to where they'd visually like to go. Especially when the art involves someone's own body, I want it to exude their energy and beauty in a way that makes them feel special.

When I make something for myself, I imbue it with a specific vibe or emotion I'd like to express and there are no rules about how to get this across. I can also 'cheat' with my own work! For example, if I find a specific implement hard to draw, maybe the person is now being spanked with a slipper rather than a hairbrush, or maybe the slipper is on the bed rather than having to work out how it looks scrunched up in a hand! Maybe I'm finding it hard on a certain day to get a face right -- now the person has turned to face away! It's all sort of easier and allows me to focus on nailing the vibe rather than the technical accuracy of a drawing.

When making something for someone else, it can get a bit tougher when people have an idea in their mind, but can't describe it or provide references for it, or, maybe they want to see multiple things that are difficult to portray in the same image. It can be frustrating to get technically stuck on something.

All that said, it's incredibly rewarding when you can make something for someone and it delights them! It feels so nice to be trusted to record a special moment or fantasy, and to bring it into a physical reality that allows a person to look at it over and over again and feel represented and understood.

And, as generative AI continues to steal from artists, I hope that the people who are continuing to support real human artists like myself know that I actually care about making it feel good and that the work they are receiving is unique and can not be replicated by robots in heart! As a lifestyle spanko, I hope that when I make spanking art from someone, my shared fetish and kink-connection shines through in the piece in a way that someone or something that isn't a spanko wouldn't be able to produce.

7. On Patreon, with your Bad Girls Club, you share not only finished artwork but also work in progress, behind the scenes glimpses, stories, and even let members vote on what you draw. What do you enjoy about bringing people into that side of your creative world?

It's fun to share these types of things and collaborate with people while making spanking art! I am a curious person, so I like to find out more about the clockwork behind people's creative processes or about the personal lives of those whose art I enjoy, so I try to share mine.

My illustrations are about spanking but they also come from the brain of a queer, Asian, Canadian, woman with ADHD, so my expressions are going to be different than someone who has a different background, and it's fun to show a glimpse of those inner workings.

I'm so grateful to the people who support me on Patreon, especially financially! I'm just your average starving artist, really, so it helps justify the time I'm spending on making the work and makes me feel so appreciated! I think I would want to share more behind the scenes stuff with everyone at large, but I have to keep some things special for Patreon supporters! I am an artist and not a (good) business/marketing person, so it can be confusing to figure out what people are interested in seeing or makes it feel worth it for them to support you! I'm always open to ideas and suggestions.

8. Looking at the artwork you've created so far, are there still things you find yourself wanting to explore, whether that's a particular kind of drawing, a new direction, or simply an idea you'd love to see come to life?

Yeah! I think that some things I'm excited about developing more in my spanking art practice are working in traditional mediums and physical rather than digital realms. I mentioned before that generative AI slop in the spanko world is a huge concern and popping up more and more regularly in my feeds on various platforms.

It makes me want to make things that can't be stolen as easily. I'm an illustrator, but I'm also a painter, so I'd love to make some spanking paintings. I'd love to do some sort of spanking graphic novel, or even a small zine or comic compilation! And I'm planning on releasing a Spanko Mail Club this winter holiday (Krampus theme to start)! I loveee receiving physical snail-mail, so I'm hoping people might be interested in getting some cheeky spanko mail every few months surrounding a theme. It would include some stuff like a postcard sized spanko art print, a sticker, an activity/recipe/game, a story or a letter, and maybe something hand-written or a hand-drawn doodle! Keep your eyes peeled!

Thank you, Birdfish, for taking the time to answer my questions and for sharing your work and words with us. ✨ I know I will definitely be signing up for the Spanko Mail Club!

Discover additional artworks created by Birdfish through the links provided below:

You can follow Birdfish on Twitter and FetLife as well as support her as an artist on Patreon. And she is currently accepting commissioned art requests of custom digital illustrations as well as custom bum polaroid illustrations.

As always, if there's a topic you'd like me to cover in a future post, or if you'd like to inquire about a session, feel free to email me at NaturallyGin@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading, and see you again next Wednesday!

Miss Gin
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Paula Meadows: 8 Questions with the Artist