Brazilian born, Maria Ávila, moved to England after she married. As a child, she was always fascinated by art and could always be found drawing and coloring. While in Europe, she pursued her interest and visited almost every major art museum on the continent. After seeing the works of Van Gogh Museum, she committed herself to art as a profession.

After moving back to Brazil in 1976, Maria formalized her learning of art and attended the Federal University of Juiz de Fora. She then moved to Rio de Janeiro and worked under Prof. Ganem at the EAV/Parque Lage Art Center and Aloisio Carvão at the Modern Art Museum. This was followed by sharing studio space with the noted Brazilian artist, Luiz Verri.

Ms. Ávila has had many art shows, both individually and collectively. Her list of awards is quite lengthy. In 1987,  she won  the prestigious  award   for  the  best  art  exhibition  of   the  year  in  Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil.
Maria works in oils, mixed media, silk , collage and paper mâché. Additionally, she enjoys experimenting with all forms new media and likes to do “recycle art”. Maria very uniquely brings an international perspective to her art. Many of her creations draw on what artists are using from Europe, Brazil and Australia. This gives her art a very distinctive flavor.

A few years ago, she met Lee Dunning on the internet. There followed a distance romance with visits from time to time. Both Lee and Maria decided, after a lengthy search in the motor home, to settle in Sweet Home, Oregon. After three years in Sweet Home, they decided to move back to Brazil, in 2004.

Lee is an accomplished inventor and holds many patents.
He also  creates table-top water falls, they have been on display and sold thoughtout the world
Both Lee's works and Maria’s is on display in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais.
Contact by email  or
by telephone 55-32-3216-4776