About Michigan Americana Michigan Americana is my outlet for photographs of Great Lakes lighthouses and other interesting buildings, old antiques and whatever else catches my eye. My brother Mike and I contributed all the pictures from a variety of road trips around Michigan's peninsulas, and a few ventures into Ohio and Indiana. This year, 2009, we've planned our Labor Day roadtrip to Michigan's western upper peninsula and Mackinaw Island in search of more lighthouses and other interesting landscapes. Look for new images around the first of the year. The pictures presented here represent a variety of digital editing styles and painterly effects using Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter. These programs allow me to enhance the images so they have the look of oil, acrylics, watercolor or chalk. All prints from 8x12 to 16x24 can be printed on artist watercolor textured inkjet paper. While the 12 x 18 and larger prints can be printed on canvas with an Epson or Canon inkjet printers using archival inks. The canvas prints can be hand stretched over artist's frames or left flat. Optionally, on the stretched canvas, two coats of hand applied brush texturing gel completes the painterly effect. Finally, a sealant is applied to protect the finished print. Rick Dery