Dinosaur gourd

I designed and painted this gourd last October 2009. It was my first venture into applying color on a gourd using oil pencils. I am pleased with the end result even though I know I have a long way to go to be totally satisfied. I was told by other gourd artist that I need to use certain dyes for color. I intend to do so in the future, but for now I just wanted to use what I had on hand. With a light brushing of turpentine to dilute the oil from the pencil, I think it turned out alright.

I have always been fascinated by dinosaurs since I was a little kid going to school at St. Dominic. On rainy days when we weren't allowed to go outside for recess, I would draw dinosaurs on the chalkboard. This gourd is divided in two halves.One side depicts a long-neck dinosaur feeding, aware that a predator is lurking in the background. The other half is an underwater scene of pleasiosaur getting ready to have a fish dinner. In the background is a coelecanth, a once thought to be extinct species of prehistoric fish.
Below are some detail photos. Let me know what you think.