Born in Habana, Cuba 1948

    My father a giving medical Doctor: Dr. Tomás Tuma Iza. My grandparents went to Cuba from Lebanon over 135 years ago. Mother a teacher: Adelaida del Campo, my grandparents on my mother's side were born in Cuba, but my great grandparents were from Spain. Dad passed away in 1952, I  was four years of age, my brother Tomás was 8 years old.

Won my first contest with a drawing of Porky Pig. Appeared in television with Gaspar Pumarejo, who interviewed me at 9 years of age.

  I was always wondering: why the wait. Why the long rides to go to school. Oftenly I got dizzy with all the turns. Went to Instituto Edison a private School in Havana, where I began to show talent in drawing. I loved the PRISMACOLOR pencils.

  In 1961 my mother and I fled Cuba, because of communism, and arrived in Miami, Florida. Completed High School; graduated from Barry University as an ART Teacher, with a minor in Philosophy...Always thinking and wondering...

  Taught ART in Miami Dade Public Schools for 22 years. Was dismissed from my job because I discovered that the Holy Bible is a GOOD BOOK and in a few ocassions, shared it   with some fellow workers and gave 6 Bibles to some students at Palm Lakes Elementary. I had two posters in my classroom which mentioned GOD and those were confiscated as if we were in communist Russia or China, or Cuba...Those were used against me.

   The process was unfair: unethical. I was not a member of the Union, I hired attorney Anthony  Dieguez and he was not allowed to be with me in a certain Conference for the Record with  Dr. Annunziata in the Office of "Professional" Standards.

   They ordered me to go to a psychologist, (as if my freedom of speech and of religion), was a  psychological demeanor or illness. They hate christians that much!...

   Began to take graphic lessons at Miami Dade College North Campus. Learned to make this wesite. See my RESUME in these pages.

   But have returned to my kolinsky brushes and I'm painting in oils and teaching painting at my gallery - atelier: 11320 N.W. 58 Place Hialeah, Florida and Miami Dade College Community Education. 

I'm a homemaker, taking care of mother who is 97. I paint some during the day, some nights up to 3 - 4 AM.
Inspite all the odds and obstacles of many sorts, I dream as all artists do, to sell my work and see them in Art Museums...much I have to paint.

M.TUMA 22 months old

MARIA TUMA 5 years old

MARIA 10 years old in Havana, Cuba

Mother and I in my 15th birthday March 22, 1963 in Miami, Fla.

MARIA TUMA in 1999

In 2005, taken by my artist friend
J. Toplak

See my list of ART EXHIBITS and my RESUME which is part of my biography
Vea la lista de exhibiciones de arte( ART EXHIBITS ) y mi RESUME que son parte de mi biografía.

The following are links to these pages.
Los siguientes son enlaces a otras de mis páginas...

María Tuma in Instituto Edison Elementary School, Cuba. 

Monument to my father: Dr. Tomás Tuma

Our Arrival to USA

San Antonio de Areco, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Me in ALASKA

ISRAEL

Mamá, photo I restored

Beba Gallardo in Rosario, Argentina

Me in Patagonia, Argentina - Perito Moreno Glacier, Bariloche
and Colorado: snow..

Perito Moreno Larger Photos

Snorkeling

Mom and I and my dog "Goldie"

Honoring my cousin César del Campo; Actor of TV and Cinema

These are only a few autobiographical pages...

ARTIST STATEMENT

I always wanted to be an artist, but my mother told me: do something else, "all artists starve to death", so I taught art in the public schools for 22 years.

In 2004 I began to paint again after many years of depression. As you can see by my list of art shows I painted and exhibited prior to 2004, but because I was a fulltime teacher I could not devote much time to my art.

I thought of going to Florence, Italy to learn classical realism at least for a summer workshop. All my prevoius life I wanted to go to France, Italy, Spain, or attend some good art school in the United States, but didn't. My responsibility to be with my mother and certain fears to be away, kept me home.

Somewhat late now at age 59, I still struggle to better my painting technique, style and body of work. In May 2005 I discovered an excellent REALIST artist in Miami: Alberto Pancorbo, from whom I have taken some lessons. I really can not afford finantially to be in his art school full time as I desire, so my progress is slow. I also have responsibility to take care of my mother who just turned 97 and being a homemaker limits my time to paint, however some times I stay up untill 3 and 4 AM. painting.

Searching, what to paint. A great desire to paint or "illustrate" stories in the Holy Bible, and without live models, is very difficult. That was the complaint Vincent Van Gogh always had: "no live models to paint from". People are my preference, one second of an expression of a person, tells so much... but I also like the landscapes GOD created, the animal kingdom all those things that are full of beauty such as HIS flowers.

At times I thought of suicide and painted a self portrait in 1975 as such after being heart broken or misundertood by someone I had erroneously considered a friend. It was displayed at Barry University in 1976 and my teacher Florinda Alzaga asked me: "why that María"?

I gently explained part of my sad feeling... later I destroyed with fire many autocricifiction paintings, one that was even displayed at the LOWE MUSEUM at the University of Miami years ago, I also burned some nude studies done at F.I.U. Florida International Univ. an that self portrait in suicide. I stopped painting for about 20 years...I looked at my brushes drying: waiting for me.

Naturally I had to buy new brushes since 2005 and all I wish is that I could paint daily without interruptions, and that my paintings be sold, so I can fullfill my dream even late in life.

I received today an email answer from a prominent american artist: Daniel Gerhartz, a master artist who encouraged me to paint from life: people, stillives, landscapes...he told me he liked my expressive work or "expressionistic" ones.VISIT HIS SITE. I will continue to learn, express and enjoy every brushstroke, I do not worry much about what galleries want anymore: (all the same look). As my friend Gema Gomez told me: just paint, eventually the style will be visible...I'm getting there...one brushstroke at a time.

I used to shy away from painting "religious themes", after all I was fired as teacher for giving Holy Bibles to some 6 of my students, but now, I declare myself as a CHRISTIAN ARTIST or simply and artist who likes what GOD the Creator made for us to enjoy. He is amazing, everyday day He paints the most incredible skies, he does it in 24 hours, what will take me weeks or months to do... I just LOVE the guy!