Evidense-Based Painting

I should probably come up with a name for the series I've been slowly but surely churning out.  But not today - it's not all that important.  What is important is the fact that this series has gotten me a ton of new readers and a ton of new mental connections.

Today's post picks up where I left off last week:

I know I've stated this before - but to be absolutely clear - I have no beef with the people who pursue this style or even with the style itself.  If it's your cup o' tea then fine - I've had my fair share of it as well.  My beef is with the perception that its the 'best' or even 'only' way to do things.  In many situations it is, but in an equal number of ways it is certainly not. 

Look at me... quoting myself.  Jeez. 

Evidence Based Practice is a fairly important idea for me.  Professionally, I deal with a number of health science faculty members and students and being able to speak their 'language' is important.  EBP is also a key component of the particular brand of information literacy instruction I engage in.  Whether I like it or not, EBP is a necessary tool for me to do my job.

Fortunately, I do like EBP.  As I've come to have a better understanding of the process at work, its wormed its way into my personal life as well.  Now, getting into the whole deal with EBP would take a lot more space than I'm prepared to use.  The idea that best practices are, well... 'best' is nothing new.  Neither is the idea that rigorous and well executed scientific testing is a pretty great thing.  And that's just the tip of the iceberg.  It would take an entire series of wikipedia articles to even begin to explain the full scope of the process.

For today's ramble, I'm mostly interested in the 'patient centered' portion of the concept.  The idea that whatever it is the doctor decides to do must reflect the values and unique situation of the patient.  It's not just taking medical history and allergies into consideration, its also paying attention to socio-economic status, social values and the like.  For example: while invasive surgery may be the most effective way to treat, say, a tumor - it may not fly if the patient is a hard-core Christian Scientist or too poor to afford the procedure.

Turns out that the whole patient centered thing is also an incredibly useful way of looking at painting advice.  This brings me back to my continued concerns with the "golden daemon style" and my self-quote.  This also links up with the infuckingcredible work that Dave and Ron have started up. 

Knowing that emulating the Golden Daemon Style is the best way to when a Slayer sword and even having a swath of good tutorials on advanced blending is virtually useless for people who don't even know how to hold a brush.  Hell, its fairly useless when you have an entire army to paint even if you do have a handle on things. Simply put, the Golden Daemon style simply is not appropriate for every situation.  But its easy to miss this amongst all the falderal that is the hype about the Golden Daemons and the ever increasing mass of tutorials aimed at that style.  All I can say is, thank Unholy Krondor for people like Dave and Ron.  I think those two have exactly identified a problem and taken steps to fix it.  Starting out painting is scary when this is what people are saying you should strive for. 

So to get back to an example - maybe dry-brushing IS the best technique for a pure beginner or someone with shaky hands. 

Maybe someone's models should be judged on a different set of criteria than whatever the hell would win a slayer sword.