Brooke Walker-Knoblich studied classical realism in an atelier setting at the Florence Academy of Art. Learning the "Sight-Size Method" for accuracy, she created the oil painting "Sylvia" (above) from a live model in four weeks. Read more about Brooke's painting process and travels in Italy through her blog.

In 2003, Brooke Walker-Knoblich began her formal art training by spending a year in Paris, France. She learned methods of glazing and pigment preparation in the tradition of the Renaissance masters. After curing lindseed oil and mixing raw pigments, Brooke painted her first oil painting "Caravaggio Interpreted"(left), a copy of Caravaggio's "Madonna and Child."

Brooke Walker-Knoblich participated in the Louvre Museum's Masters Copy Program, setting up her easel three days a week in the Sully Pavillion of the Louvre. Over the next eight weeks, she painted a copy of Jean Baptist Santerre's "Suzanne au Bain"(right) .