I have been very fortunate to have lived most of my adult life with my husband in Europe.  Mainly we lived in Rome, Italy and then on The Costa del Sol, Spain.  Fabulous memories and lots of shopping for Art works, Books, &  Antiques. During our travels we encountered many fine and wonderful restaurants and now that we are back in our own Wonderful Country, "The Good Old USA," we cook up a lot of Italian pasta and fantastic French dishes.  Being one-half Italian, it has been a lot of fun having family meals and showing them the "real," cuisine from Italy.  Now I am happy to be selling books, paintings and other items on my site and Ebay Store.

Along with my books & items, I am now  introducing original oil paintings to my site and Ebay store, by Mark Garrison.  He is a painter living and working in Austin, Texas for the past 20 years, where he also teaches Italian.   He lived his first 18 years in Rome, Italy where he was able to take in the great art,culture and history of that city.  Mark Garrison has also lived in Tuscany, where he was able to incubate the medieval works of Siena, with the Renaissance masterpieces in Florence, and even the Etruscan sites he has explored  in the Tuscan countryside.

In his paintings, Mark Garrison seeks to blend or coordinate his inner life with his outer experience of ancient Rome, modern Italy and wild Texas. He received his MFA in painting from The UT in 1991.  His works  have been shown at Andur Gallery, Alternate Current and Lombardi Gallery, Austin, Texas, and Art Best in Houston, Texas. While his use of the term "Spirits," tends to apply to all of his works, Mark says all of his paintings are "unintended." No one knows what he means by this, but it at least serves as an entry into his work. A sample of this "Beautiful" work is on Ebay My World.

 I invite you to see his paintings on my site & Ebay store, and then purchase these lovely original oil paintings.