Cleveland Morris’s Viva Sicilia Debuts Dec. 2^nd

Viva Sicilia, a series of 30 new paintings from Sicily by Cleveland Morris, will be on display in Cleveland’s studio gallery in Staunton, VA, starting on December 2.

The paintings are all 6” x 8”, oil on panel, framed and ready to hang or display on a tabletop or bookshelf, and priced at $195 each, or 2 for $350, 3 for $500.

This is the third year in a row that Cleveland has hosted an exhibition of his scenes from Sicily. Whether the paintings are landscapes, seascapes, street scenes, people, or food, the real subject is always his immense love for this beautiful, fascinating island, its culture and its people.

Cleveland’s first trip there was more than 50 years ago. He has led 4 art-related tours to Sicily and has visited several more times on his own as well.

“Unfortunately, the first impressions that come up for most Americans are the Mafia and the Godfather. But Sicily is so much more,” Cleveland remarked. The most recent trip was this fall, in the company of Eliot Norman, his wife, Annette, and several other friends.

A trip to Sicily with Eliot was especially meaningful to Cleveland. “It was Eliot [Norman] who gave me a well-timed and well-placed kick in the seat of the pants to get started with this series,”  he said. “We were having dinner one night a few years ago, and Eliot was asking a number of pertinent and probing questions about my art career.

“I admitted that one thing I had always dreamed of doing was creating a series of small, inexpensive paintings of views of Sicily to post and sell online, in the manner of several other artists whose work I admire and follow. When Eliot (who is a man of action) demanded, ‘Why not?’, I started to reply, ‘I’m too old.’  I then realized that there is no excuse more feeble than that. I bit my tongue and Eliot and I started making plans.”

Cleveland had had a long and distinguished career in the theatre previously and a second career as a still-life painter, whose specialty was realistic paintings, often of his favorite foods. With 34 solo painting exhibitions and numerous group shows under his belt, striking off in a new direction required a bit of courage and a whole toolbox of new skills. Plus he had 4 shows scheduled for 2020 and a lot of paintings to make to fill those galleries.

Shortly after Eliot and Cleveland’s dinner, along came the pandemic, and that made up his mind for him. His art shows were canceled, and Cleveland seized the opportunity to pursue this Sicilian dream.

He learned as he went and had a uniquely wonderful lockdown.  Deferring any online sales and marketing, and wanting to gauge public response, he held his first exhibit, Ciao, Sicilia, in his home gallery in December, 2020.

Because it was the early days of the pandemic, admission to the show was by invitation and appointment only, with only four people at a time, for 15-minute time slots.

I can immodestly state that it was a big success, selling 32 out of 36 paintings. I think the timing was helpful. Nobody had been able to travel, and as we entered winter, the glow of Mediterranean sunshine and sea, as well as glimpses of joyous people and their unique cuisine beckoned and lifted people’s spirits.

Even people whose walls are already filled with art, could find a place for one of these little pieces. Plus, the price was right.”

His next show, Sempre Sicilia, took place in November 2021. With vaccinations underway and more known about COVID-19, he relaxed his gallery admission standards a bit, and the show was similarly successful.

In the fall of 2022, Cleveland saw his dream coming true in the form of a three-week trip to Sicily to photograph and sketch as he went. He found his time there so inspiring that he is now hoping to rent an apartment and actually paint while there, especially scenes in and around Palermo, its markets, food, and people. “It is all so gorgeous, there’s a painting everywhere you look!”

23 and Me would find no trace of Sicilian ancestry in Cleveland’s DNA, but he claims that he is 100% Sicilian in his heart, and there is no heart in the world bigger than a Sicilian’s.  He would love to hear from classmates who can claim a Sicilian heritage or others who have visited and fallen in love with the complex, misunderstood, and uniquely alluring culture of Sicily.

For any inquiries about these paintings or commissions, please contact Cleveland at cmmmmix@gmail.com or visit www.clevelandmorris.com.