Truly a 'Tour de force'; it's fun to look at and try to figure out how you would have done it. A huge amount of background would have to have been cut out at the breech and muzzle, and then the surface reshaped. I love your use of different colored golds - at least three colors. The pebbly textured background gold because of the texture looks like a fourth color. And then the contrast to the blue of the barrel is spectacular. Is the barrel fire blued? At any rate, the work is wonderful - thanks for sharing.
