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2023

Welcome to my Annual blog!

My 2015

12/31/2015

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2015 came and went, seeing the last sheet of paper on my peel-off calendar, I’m feeling a little blue. The feeling inside of me is the same every last day of the year, and is taken over by “Sadness”, because another year is gone. I always need some time to adjust to my emotions for the new year. Yes, I watched too much "Inside Out"… XD

So to summarize the positive and negative events of 2015, I can tell you that it was a roller coaster ride.
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Starting off the year, I was so delighted to have met my idol, the Disney Legend, Master Animator, and creator of Ariel, Glen Keane! To hear him giving a speech in person was very encouraging and also very emotional for me. I grew up with Ariel and it was this character that inspired me to draw and sing. The first song I learned to sing was Part of Your World. This character meant so much to me, and it was created and drawn by Glen Keane. Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to meet Glen Keane and it was such an inspirational moment. Already having met the writers, directors and producers of the Little Mermaid, Ron Clements and John Musker, at the Walt Disney Studios last year, and also Alan Menken and Jodi Benson before that, I felt that I’m a lucky girl to have been able to meet the whole team of my favorite childhood animation. I guess this is the Disney Magic (Dream, Wish & Believe).

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​In March, I was excited to be invited to the Walt Disney Company’s 2015 Annual Meeting. It was a unique and fun experience and not as boring as I thought it would be. Mickey Mouse was there to greet us along with Olaf, Storm Troopers and more! After the meeting, we were all treated to an early screening of Cinderella.  It was a wonderful experience.
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I loved animation and that’s how I started to draw. But unfortunately, I did not have the chance to study animation when I was young and settled for graphic design in college. I stopped drawing for a while and was working in the music industry. I felt that during this time, my art skill has deteriorated, and I’m always hesitant to present my artwork to great Disney artist because I felt that my art skills are not up to the quality of their standards. But thanks to my hubby, he gave a set of my Allure Series artwork to a Disney Artist, Mike Peraza, and received positive comments. This gave me confidence to help me continue to do what I like to do. I am now continuing to draw and also working on my new style of artwork. I don’t quite have a name for this style yet, but as some of you may have seen, it’s basically artwork with black background with high contrast colors and lighting effects. 
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​I attended the 2015 D23 Expo in August and was overwhelmed by Star Wars fans. To be honest, I’m not a big fan of Star Wars, so this felt like a Star Wars convention more than a Disney convention. But other than the Star Wars makeover, there were many other events to keep me occupied. I saw many actors and actresses but was very excited to see another one of my favorite actor, Johnny Depp. He sure was mad as a hatter, but it was fun. One disappointing thing about this event was that the 
merchandise was very hard to come by. There was a D23 exclusive Pixar shirt that I really really wanted to get, but was not able to because of the many scalpers purchasing all of them and putting it on eBay for 3x the amount of the original price. I was down for a few days. But overall, it was still a fun expo and this year was definitely a new experience for me. 


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This year was the 60th Anniversary of Disneyland and also the Diamond Celebration. I had high hopes for my visit this year, and with high hopes came with disappointing moments. Started the day with a bad experience at the parking garage. There was some accident earlier in the day and we were directed to make a detour to a different nearby parking garage which was a little further away and with all the commotions, we finally arrived at the gate almost an hour later. Then at the entrance where we were stuck for a long time. There was a malfunction of the ticketing machine and instead of directing us to the next line, the cast member just sat there waiting for the manager to come help without letting the rest of the line know about what’s happening and how long it would take. So we ask if we can just go to the next line and she said that we will have to go to the end of the line, which doesn’t make sense as we were already in line for a long time. So we waited and waited and finally another cast member came and we were let through. So with that out of the way, the rest of the day was great and fun… until… the fireworks. We were already excited to be in Disneyland and was waiting for the finale before we head home, the Diamond Celebration fireworks! But to our great disappointment, the fireworks had some technical difficulty and was cancelled. But we were told that it was cancelled due to high winds! High winds!!! We looked around, none of the leaves were even moving… it was a calm day all day long. But I guess Disney didn’t want people to know that they had technical difficulties. Oh well… it was just disappointing and it wasn’t the happiest place on earth for me this time.
Even though it wasn’t the best experience, but the force of the Disney Magic will bring me back to Disneyland again in the near future.

Looking forward to the new year of 2016 and wish everyone a Happy New Year! Cheers!
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December 2014

12/31/2014

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I actually do not like writing blogs because I am not the type of person who knows how to express myself. Most of the time I would start a blog and then just stop. I just couldn't think of what to write and just erase the whole thing. So I have decided that I will just write a blog once a year.

Looking back into 2014, for Malaysians, it hasn't been a good year. Three Malaysian related flight incidents have been a nightmare for us... Even though Malaysian Airlines MH370 have been missing for quite some time, I still have hope and wishes everyone in flight MH370 returns home soon. Unless evidence is found, I still believe they are alive. Being a Malaysian myself, I am sadden by these events and I want to give my condolences to the family and friends of passengers in flight MH17 and QZ8501.
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During 2014, there are a few unforgettable moments that I have experienced.  My pet dog, Pongo, had to undergo surgery while I was away in Malaysia which kept me awake for two nights. This kind of feeling made me realized that this little dog that I adopted 2 years ago is now part of my family. He is like a son to me and I love him very much!

The first time I had one of my art piece available for auction, I worried that it was not good enough and that I may have to bring it home because no one will like it. To my surprise, there were a couple of people on a bidding war to win my art piece. I was glad and felt very honored that my art work was appreciated. I believe that there are still people that will appreciate ones work not because of who they are but because of the quality of their work. If you think about it, most people before they are well known, are just hard working individuals trying to proof the quality of their work.  Because of my artwork being noticed, I was asked to help design the artwork for ceramic tile coasters for the Jolly Holiday Christmas Party by the Golden Gate Disneyana Club. At the party, seeing everyone receiving the tiles and telling me how much they liked it really made me feel appreciated and full of satisfaction, even though I was not a well known or famous artist. Just like 2 years ago when I was asked to perform at the Walt Disney Family Museum, this made me realize that hard work will pay off.
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This year is also the year that I finally had the oppurtunity to watch the Maestro Danny Elfman in concert. Being able to watch and listen to Danny Elfman singing live as Jack Skellington from Nightmare before Christmas and see never before seen original artwork by Tim Burton was one of the most meaningful and memorable Halloween ever!

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25 years ago, my dad bought me a VHS version of Disney's "The Little Mermaid", and i fell in love with this movie. Unfortunately, I didnt get a chance to watch it at the big screen. Being born and raised in Malaysia and after 25 years later, I would never thought that I will get to watch this movie again at the big screens inside the Walt Disney Studios with the creators of The Little Mermaid, John Musker and Ron Clements. It was such an emotional experience because this movie shaped me into who I am today, a vocalist and an artist.



To wrap up 2014, all the negative and positive is now an after thought, so to move into 2015, I am making a wish upon a star that I can meet the mermaid master and Disney Legend, Glen Keane, who is also my most favorite artist.


Happy New Year, I wish my dream will come true!  ºoº
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Cutesy Disney Princesses

8/20/2014

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After creating my Origami Series Princesses, I was told by someone that they looked too skinny and can be a bad influence.  As an artist's point of view, it doesn't matter if they look skinny or fat, as long as it is a good representation of a person, then that is good enough.  But anyhow, this person has inspired me to create this new "Cutesy Princesses" piece.  With this piece, I tried to bring out the positive of these body figures because not everyone is created equal, and anyone can be a princess.
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2013

12/31/2013

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Time flies... today is the last day of the year 2013.  Thinking back on what I have done this year, there were happy times, down times but overall, it was still a good year. 

Let's start off with the not so good stuff first.  My crowd funding indiegogo campaign was not successful, I didn't raise the amount that I needed to create my album.  But that's okay, just like what Walt Disney said, "It's good to have a hard failure when you're young".  So with the little amount that I received, I was able to create a demo album.  This also gave me time to relax a bit so I have time to continue with my art interest.

I began to draw again, and have learn how to do it digitally.  I created my own style of Disney inspired artworks, the "Origami" and "Allure" Series.  I never would have thought that I would return to doing art.  And this time, it's Disney inspired art, the subject that most interest me.  Being able to provide my artwork for sale also encourage me to do more.  Knowing that someone somewhere in this world appreciate my artwork and purchase a phone case with it, carrying it with them everyday makes me smile with glee.  But I will not stop doing traditional art as that is my first true passion. 

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During the year, I attended the GGDC spring meeting in which I donated one of my artwork for the club to use as a raffle.  To my surprise, I was excitedly happy to see that my artwork had one of the most tickets being used to hopefully win that piece. 

Again during the GGDC Xmas party, I donated another piece to the club as a raffle prize.  Once again, my artwork had one of the most tickets placed in the bowl.  Here is a photo of the winner of my artwork. 
I never thought that my artwork would be appreciated so much and this have really encourage me to continue on what I love.

This year I had the honor to meet a few talented Disney artist and Legends.  They are but not limited to, Tyrus Wong, Andreas Deja, and Claire Keane
.  But I hope in 2014 I can also meet Claire's father, Glen Keane.  He have inspired me the most ever since I was little.  I have learn so much from listening to these artist during their workshops and talks.  They inspired me even more to create more good artworks.

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Traveling... although I haven't done too much traveling this year, but I did made one spectacular trip.  I went on an Alaskan Cruise with the Disney Cruise Line!  It was the most fascinating places that I have been too.  The glaciers were majestically beautiful.  I rode a helicopter and then a float plane.  The Alaskan Huskies were so cute.  The food were great.  The King crab legs were delicious.  The scenery is just breath taking.  I'd go there again in a heart beat.



One sad moment this year was the passing of Walt Disney's daughter, Diane Disney Miller.  She was such a nice and humble lady and have contributed so much to promote Walt Disney's Legacy.  I'm so honored to have meet this wonderful lady and hope that she enjoyed the CD that I have recorded for her.  Without Diane, I wouldn't have been able to perform at the Walt Disney Family Museum.  Her passing was such a shock to me but she will always be in my heart, just like Walt Disney.

I hope I will have another magical year in 2014!

Happy New Year!!!
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My Pixar Week

6/15/2013

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Started the week by enjoying a nice and sunny Saturday at the Lasseter Family Winery. This winery has such a nice and cozy atmosphere.  Then on Thursday, attended a fundraising benefit event for the Techbridge school for girls at the Pixar Animation Studios and was treated to a special pre-release screening of Monsters University. To cap off the week, went to the Walt Disney Family Museum for a presentation of Disney/Pixar 101 by Pixar Producer Jonas Rivera and Disney historian Don Peri. Diane Disney Miller and her husband Ron Miller was also there attending the presentation.
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GGDC Spring Meeting

3/17/2013

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This is the first time I donated one of my drawings and what better than to donate it to the Golden Gate Disneyana Club.  I always have the lack of confident to show off my artwork in person other than to my family and close friends.  But I build up some courage today and wanted to help out the club, so I donated this drawing I did for the Mermaid themed meeting.  The drawing was for a raffle prize and there were quite some also very nice items up for raffle.  All of them are authentic Disney collection items.  But to my surprise, my drawing was one of the most wanted items in the raffle.  Having dreamt of drawing for the Disney company, this is as close as I can go for now and was very happy to be acknowledged by Disney fanatics!  This will encourage me to continue to create more artwork and hopefully, maybe in the future, my dream may come true again.

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Merry Christmas!

12/18/2012

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The year 2012 is wrapping up and looking back the past two years, I was involved with many Disney Magic.  I spent last year's Christmas on the Disney Dream cruise line sailing in the Bahamas and then counted down the year at Disney World Magic Kingdom.  But my most memorable moment this year is when I was invited to perform my musical show "A Tribute to Walt Disney" at the Walt Disney Family Museum.  It was an honor to be able to pay tribute to Walt Disney at the Walt Disney Family Museum which was founded by Walt's daughter, Diane Disney Miller.  I will never forget this moment as it was like a dream came true.  So to end my Disney year, I spent a few days working on this piece to celebrate Christmas 2012.  I'm looking forward to another year filled with Disney Magic!

Merry Christmas and have a Happy Holidays!

- Paulway

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Happy Halloween!

10/28/2012

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My first attempts at drawing the Disney Villains, as much as I like the Disney Princesses, the Villains are always fun and evil at the same time.  They are also all very unique in their own way, this is Disney magic.  For a more detail and close up view of each villain, please visit my gallery artwork section.

Have a Happy, Save and Magical Halloween from all the Disney Villains!!  Which one will you be?

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GGDC Halloween Party 2012

10/21/2012

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This is Halloween, this is Halloween, pumpkin scream in the dead of night!  Indeed, it was full of screaming fun at John and Sally's home.  Great food, fresh fruits and delicious eye popping desserts.  Our hosts, John the ghost and Sally Poppins, yes... Sally in a Mary Poppins costume, was very gracious for inviting us to their humble home filled with beautiful art collections and Disney collectibles, it was a treat for the eyes.

This is my second year being part of the Golden Gate Disneyana Club and my first time attending the Halloween party.  It was so much fun to see every one of all ages in Disney costumes.  It almost feels like being in Disneyland during Halloween time.

Next up, GGDC Christmas party! Can't wait!  =D

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My Disney Princess Inspired Digital Art

10/3/2012

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I have always been a huge fan of Disney art ever since I was a child.  One day, while I was strolling inside the Disney employee store at the Walt Disney Studios, a book caught my eyes.  This book introduced by Glen Keane, The Art of the Disney Princess, is a book with collections of many artworks created by different artist each with their own styles portraying the Princesses. 
One afternoon, while going through the book, I thought to myself, since I love drawing Disney Princesses myself, why not create my own versions of these artwork.  My first attempt was drawing Snow White with color pencils.  I also attempted a few more princess drawings with Ariel, Aurora, Rapunzel, Tiana and Merida.  Before I completed my Princess Series, I saw online a contest to create artwork for T-Shirts with the Nightmare before Christmas theme.  I saw many submitted artwork that looked wonderful and was done digitally.  Unfortunately, I haven't learn how to draw with a computer before, so I attempted to enter this contest with my hand drawn art.  But I told myself, why not take this opportunity to learn something new, as in digital art.  So I forced myself to learn and draw with Adobe Illustrator.  Even though I didn't win the contest, but I am very happy to have learn the basics of Digital Art and falling in love with it.
After the contest ended, I returned to my hand drawn Disney Princess series.  Again, my heart questions me why not convert my Disney Princess series from hand drawn artwork to digital art?  With a little more practice, I used the hand drawn Snow White as an example to be the first one converted digitally.  Using the computer to create art is very different than drawing by hand.  So I had to recreate the other hand drawn Princess with a different theme and style. 

While working on a particular Princess, I will have each princess sing for me, and then I will sing along with them.  I will keep replaying their songs until I feel that my digital princesses matches the voice that I am hearing, as if they are singing the songs themselves.  When completing my Princess Series, although they are similar in style, but each one is unique in it's own way.  Their skin color, eyes, lips, height and body figure are different and based on their ethnics.  The object they are holding relates to their story. 

What amazes me about the Disney Princess is their character design by the Disney animators.  Each princess has their unique style, color, outfit design and personality that will differentiate them from one another, allowing us to identify who is who with a quick glance.  This is Disney artwork at it's best and I am proud to be able to finally complete my digital artwork of the Disney inspired Princess Series.
To see more of my artwork, please visit my Artwork section.
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