Touhoucon WIP: Shikieiki Yamaxanadu

This is part of a series of WIPs that I intend to finish before Touhoucon in September. These WIPs are notably NOT DONE -- meaning areas that look completely unshaded etc. are that way FOR A REASON. I don't like getting all the way to finishing touches only to have someone tell me to overhaul something, so I'm putting them up online early.

Please give me advice on the picture, but I request that you advise in such a way that I don't have to change the picture completely. These pictures are becoming prints, regardless of mistakes, and I would rather they be the best they can be at this point.

For this piece especially, I tried a number of things I never had done before, and I would like to know how they went. Does the metal look like metal? Is the composition okay with the trellis in the midground? Are the blurry field flowers in the background reasonable? The reason this is less done than other WIPs is because I am waiting on commentary about certain areas to finish, say, the metal shoulderpads or do more work on the trellis/field and so on.