One of the things that takes a bit of luck is the way the coconut splits. I hold them on their side and smack em with a hammer...I like to take my frustrations out on the coconut! They never split the same way twice which is part of the fun of painting them.
When I saw this setup, I really liked the way the coconut split and so I decided to do one with a light background and one with a dark background. They were both painted separately and from life, and if you look closely there are differences between the two.
The top one is up for auction on Daily Paint Works...