Today we talked with the young artist Federica Rossi.
Also known as Robin Mooneye she is a young Italian artist who comes from a small town near Genova. After attending the Art school in Urbino she left her family and her world to compliment her biggest dream: becoming an acknowledged artist. Given her young age, we wanted to give space to her fresh and new voice with an informal interview that might make her feel free to share with us her personal point of view.
"I can deeply understand things that maybe other people can not really appreciate."
Hello Federica, welcome to DARE CLAN. How are you today? How are you feeling?
Hi! Well everything is fine I didn’t have so much to do at work so it is not really a bad day.
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Yes sure. My name is Federica I’m 24 years old and now I live in London but I’m from a small town near Genoa, about 30 kms. About my personality, I can say that I’m quite open minded, this quality is very helpful in the art field especially because it allows me to accept all the shades of modern and contemporary art. I actually think that this is the best thing about me, mainly because I can deeply understand things that maybe other people can not really appreciate. Furthermore, from these never really appreciated arts I often get inspired and they help me to experiment.
You have recently moved to the UK, from how long have you been in London and what do you think this city can give you compared to Italy?
On the 29th of May it was exactly six month since I’ve been in London. I think that this city is really inspiring because just moving in about a mile you can find different backgrounds and landscapes and this is a constant inspiration for me. The main thing that I like about London is the way people treat artists, they are really respectful and appreciative of designers work: even a hydro-cleaning company has at least two graphic designers. In London is really easy to find art and inspiration, there are plenty of galleries and most of them are free to say nothing of parks and botanical trails that I really love.
So do you think that you can not find all these things in Italy too?
Well I think that Italy is a really beautiful place but a thing that I can’t really find is the respect for artists, it’s really easy to find people that would like to have one of your art works but it’s also difficult to find someone who will pay you for your job. I mean, publicity is really important but no one can live on air!
I define myself as a selenophile and the eye, well is just one of the thing that every artist loves to draw and so do I.
You have a really unusual stage name, may I ask you to tell us the meaning and why you have chosen it?
Well, I’ve never really liked my name so ever since I was a child I used to tell people that I have another name. Despite that I’ve always struggled to find a name that I could really stick on and a few years ago I decided to look for a stage name that could really represent me; in that moment Robin came to my mind from absolutely no where. After a while I realised that actually Robin wasn’t so impressive so I thought of my passion for drawing. The artwork that I was most proud of was a fish shape and starting from there I read all the existing fish species trying to find out a name that would sound good. Suddenly I discovered Mooneye. Despite the animal that brings this name it’s not cute or even good looking I just fell in love with it. The term Mooneye consists of two things close to me: the moon and the eye. In fact, I’ve always been quite passionate about the moon and I define myself as a selenophile and the eye, well is just one of the thing that every artist loves to draw and so do I.
Not only people entice me to draw, I’m also inspired by my inner self. When I’m feeling strong emotions I actually can see what I’m feeling.
Ok now let’s talk about your artistic side! What does it mean for you to draw? How do feel when you are doing it?
Actually I do not even think about it when I’m drawing, it comes as natural as sleep and often I realize what I’m doing when I’ve already finish it. I’m also a little bit hyperactive so it represents a way to put down all the thoughts, a way to relax .. the more I draw the more I feel free.
We had a look at your Instagram and Behance profiles and we saw that you draw many different subjects. From where do you draw your inspiration?
Most of the times it happens when I’m having conversations with my friends and I think that it’s because I have a quite big imagination, in fact a lot of times it happens that while someone is talking I image weird scenarios that give me ideas and inspirations for new artworks. Not only people entice me to draw, I’m also inspired by my inner self. When I’m feeling strong emotions I actually can see what I’m feeling, for example when I’m in pain I can see needles or arrows stabbing my body. By drawing I get rid of all these emotions, good or otherwise.
Do you have a favorite subject?
Well I like to draw flowers and botanical subjects but most of all I love fishes. My passion was born during a lesson I attended where the teacher said that the fish is basically one of the most harmonic shapes that you can find in nature. Ever since that moment I paid attention to that and now I can’t do without.
Which work are you most proud of?
Honestly it depends. Sometimes I’m really proud of works that maybe I hated the day before but if I have to choose I pride myself on the Mooneye fish. I did it during my first year at the bachelor degree and I still love it after six years, I’ve even tattooed it!
Do you have a particular drawing process that you follow or is there a different one every time?
When I draw I try to put some structures but it depends on the subject that I’m representing. Based on what I’m drawing or on the story behind it I like to do more line drawing other times more abstract and colorful. Sometimes I have a lot of preparation other times I just draw what is passing through my mind.
Talking about the future, what plans do you have?
I have many! I’m very happy at the place where I’m working right now, but I’d love to step up with my freelance illustration work, what's more I’ve just started tattooing people and I’d like to find a studio where I can go and tattoo there. This way of expression is what made me decided to start studying art, it’s always been a passion of mine and I hope it will be my future.
Follow Federica's work on her Instagram account.
Interview & Article by
Images from
Federica Rossi (Robin Mooneye)