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Carmel Mountain photographer finds beauty in the everyday

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A Carmel Mountain Ranch photographer will be sharing her art in the 10th annual ArtWalk NTC at Liberty Station this weekend.

The event, which is free to attend, is being held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15 and Sunday, Aug. 16 at Liberty Station on Ingram Plaza, 2645 Historic Decatur Road.

More than 200 local, regional and international artists will be displaying and selling their work for the public to browse, purchase and ask questions.

Visitors can also enjoy live music, interactive art for adults and kids, delicious street food options and a wine and beer pavilion with wine from Francis Ford Coppola’s Diamond Collection and beer from Stone Brewing.

For Monica Royal, of Monica Royal Fine Art Photography in Carmel Mountain Ranch, this will be the first time her artwork will be part of ArtWalk at Liberty Station.

“I haven’t attended this specific ArtWalk before, but I’ve been at similar ones,” said Royal. “I’ve gotten serious this year about pursuing art shows as something I want to do.”

Royal’s passion is macro photography, or taking extremely close-up photos of small or intricate objects.

Though insects, flowers and organics are common subjects for macro photography, Royal gravitates toward everyday objects, like glass, wire and scraps of objects she finds around her studio. “I naturally gravitated toward macro photography,” said Royal. “I’ve always been fascinated by tiny things, especially drops of liquid.”

Royal said she was also drawn to her subject matter because it was something that wasn’t being done in macro photography. “Bugs, florals and organics are overdone,” she said. “I did research and decided to do what isn’t being done. I take everyday objects and manipulate them to make them unusual. I take normal, everyday objects and make them extraordinary.”

She began taking photos at the age of 12 growing up in Canada. Royal began taking photos professionally about ten years ago, when she moved to San Diego.

Royal will have 15 of her macro photography pieces on display at her booth at ArtWalk, displayed on metal. She will also be selling prints of her work, not only her macro photography but many other styles, including florals and her other photographic passion, landscapes. “I love landscapes, and I’ll have many available for purchase,” said Royal.

Royal said she is looking forward to talking with viewers about her art at ArtWalk. “I really like the conversations with people who come into my booth and don’t know what they’re looking at. I do macro abstracts, and that allows a dialogue to flow. I want people interested in art, and I want to get the message out that you need more than a fancy camera to make art. You need to understand artistic concepts and study.”

For more information on ArtWalk and its programs, visit www.artwalksandiego.org/ntc.

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