Capturing the essence of Mom on canvas

Tarpon Springs, Florida -- Mom's special day is Sunday. If you have forgotten, shame on you.

The good news is that you still have time to pick out something special. If you're cruising along the historic sponge docks you may want to stop by "Art on the Docks" and meet up with Robert Blehert.

He won't be hard to find. He's the guy with the Hawaiian shirt, board shorts, little tan (he's from Seattle), brush in hand and easel a few inches in front of him.

"When I paint, I feel more alive than perhaps anything I do," says Blehert. The 53-year-old may feel alive, but he doesn't want the world to know it. "I prefer to let the painting speak and the signature I tend to hide more or less if I can," says Blehert.

Blehert's paintings are unique because they are devoted to women. In each one he tries to capture the essence of the woman through a floral image. He's done several, but this weekend he's specializing in mothers. He sold 23 last year during Mother's Day weekend, but what makes his touch special is that he can capture mom whether she is there or not, "When I talk about to woman or even get told about her, I get a feeling. Something comes to mind, I get a sense, a composition comes to mind that to me feels like that woman."

His style is different, but it is backed by 41 years of practice. "I'm not trained in different style, but I'm trained in the fundamental of painting," says Blehert.

As for his own mother?

"My mother, she was a school teacher. She was pretty artistic. She had a way you know of teaching children and doing things very creative," says Blehert.

And the creativity lives on. His paintings sell for $69, but to mom it will be priceless.