Cipressi e Mirti (Cypresses and Myrtles) was born of a commission by an Italian client to paint "something Mediterranean," the color scheme given being greens, blues, and purples. Though Clement had intended to start the painting as another abstract with a branch of cypress glued onto the canvas, the work evolved into an impression of cypress trees, observed at the historic Linwood Cemetery in Columbus, Georgia, where he also obtained the crepe myrtles used in the work.

This work is very much inspired by the works of Claude Monet and is a tribute to the souls of the departed, who now repose peacefully beneath the cypresses and myrtles of Linwood.