One of my favorite projects I worked on at Walt Disney Imagineering was Disney’sAnimal Kingdom, especially since it involved travel!  I was part of the design team for the Asian area and Discovery Island, formally known as Safari Village.  The design team would go on research trips to Asia, to immerse ourselves in the culture, and photo document countries we visited to help us to re- create similar environments in the park.  We would also seek out and work with local artisans and craftsmen to create elements that would eventually be part of the overall design.  On one of these trips we went to Bali, one of the most peaceful and magical places I have ever been.  This painting is called Balinese Lotus, after the lotus pond at Cafe Lotus which overlooks Pura Saraswati.  This is a small study for a larger piece I’m working on.  In the next post, I will post a few progress photos of this piece.