By Laura Hipshire
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

“I could hardly believe it—all this for a painting?” Roy Kebschull says, astonished.

Kebschull’s acrylic painting, Point Aux Barques, was selected from 28 other submissions from Erickson Retirement Community residents as a winner in the Point Lookout Resident Artwork Contest.

He and the other two grand-prize winners were invited to the grand opening of Point Lookout, Erickson’s new conference center and retreat in Northport,  Maine, in July.

Each Erickson community held individual contests to determine which residents would compete in the national contest; winners would receive a trip to Point Lookout and have their art displayed at the retreat center.

“I was reluctant to enter and give up a painting,” Kebschull says. “Surprisingly, I won.”

Nationwide contest
His winning painting is now on display at Point Lookout; Kebschull had a reproduction made for himself as a personal keepsake. He has also put together a slide show of his trip to Maine for his fellow residents to enjoy.

“It was quite a nice trip—Point Lookout is a fabulous place,” he says.

Lighthouses favorite subject for artist
Kebschull, who moved from Dearborn Heights to Henry Ford Village, painted the piece five years ago. “Point Aux Barques,” French for “point for the small boats,” depicts a lighthouse located at the tip of the “thumb” in Lake Huron, Mich.

“I like to paint lighthouses a lot,” Kebschull says. “And tall ships too.”

Having attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago, Kebschull has been an artist ever since he can remember. For many years he worked as a technical illustrator for Ford Motor Company, drawing illustrations of engines and other items for service manuals.

“It was all technical stuff,” he says.

Kebschull has won awards for his work from Ford, as well as other prizes for artwork he’s done in the past.