6 Easiest Van Gogh Paintings to Recreate

For all those painting enthusiasts there, here are some of the easiest Van Gogh paintings to recreate.

Wondering how easy it is to copy a famous painting, and how easy is to draw paintings by famous artists? The first thing is choosing some easy famous paintings to copy. I guess, Number 8 by Jackson Pollock would not be among your first choices, as that is certainly not one of the easy paintings to recreate. We are here to learn how to paint impressionist style. Although recreating Van Gogh’s paintings might seem as a relatively easy task at the beginning, that certainly is not the case. Personal characteristics and painting styles of impressionists (and all other painters on that matter) make them recognizable and their paintings hard to copy. Impressionism and post-impressionism (to which Van Gogh’s works belong) have made a revolution in art and not only painting. They have moved boundaries of classical expressions in art, which made it hard for people to accept it at the beginning as an unexpected leap in the art of representing the world.

Post-impressionism in visual arts represents even more elaborated style from impressionist techniques characterized by short visible brush strokes and thick application of color among others. So, for recreating such a painting, in order to make a decent copy of an impressionist’s or Van Gogh’s painting, one must be very skilled, since every brush stroke is visible and therefore immediately differentiated from the original. But, impressionist painting style is perfect for amateurs practicing new ways of expressing themselves.

Then there is an issue of how good of a painter you are and what task is actually easy for you to get done. So in that case, if you are a beginner (and also a NYC resident), here is a great choice of 18 Beginner Painting Classes in NYC, and you might get some ideas there which paintings to copy for beginners and what easy famous paintings to draw might seem as the best option. Some people find it easier to paint landscapes, other go with figures. That is why it was tough work choosing the easiest Van Gogh paintings to recreate.

Because of those reasons, our research was based on resources that have encompassed the whole picture making process on one hand, and their recommendations for some Van Gogh paintings relatively easy to recreate on the other. Those were resources concerning Van Gogh art projects like Online Academy of Fine Art and Acrylic Painting and Happy Family Art. On Youtube we have searched for some recommendations for beginners paintings by Van Gogh easy to recreate, or how to draw Van Gogh step by step, so be sure to check more Van Gogh art lesson videos there also.  Then we have also taken in mind resources that recommend some of the easiest Van Gogh paintings for children to recreate, such as Love to Know and Art Projects for Kids, where you can find some recommendations for easy paintings to copy with acrylics.

Van Gogh has painted landscapes as well as figures and self-portraits. There are series of same representations that Van Gogh has made, like some landscapes, still natures and sunflowers for example. Probably the most impressive parts of his paintings are usually skies, so recreating paintings from our suggestions will help you to learn how to draw a Van Gogh sky. Having some of them on our list of easiest Van Gogh paintings to recreate, you can choose the ones you like the most. Also, the good thing for practicing is recreating paintings in techniques you like the most, whether it is acrylic, watercolor, oil or anything else. And, of course, you will need a painting reproduction in front of you, so it is recommended to recreate famous paintings with photography of it, having it by your side all the time.

Some people recreate and copy art for a living, while others just want to try out in the art. In any case, take a look at our recommendation of easiest Van Gogh paintings to recreate, and you might get some inspiration for your work there:

6. Irises

So, let’s begin with nature. Apparently, Irises were a great inspiration for Van Gogh, just like cypress trees and sunflowers. Of all iris paintings we recommend the one now being held in Getty museum in California. You can see some fun ideas how this painting could be recreated in other techniques here.

5. Yellow Sky and Olive Trees

Olive trees are a big series of Van Gogh’s paintings, with around 20 of them, and the one with the yellow sky is recommended as easy painting to recreate. Here you would practice wide brush strokes and use of the similar color tones.

4. Wheatfield with Cypress

Yet another landscape painting, featuring cypress trees. By recreating this painting, you will get the insight in proportions and settings of a decent landscape.

3. Wheatfield with Crows

This painting is famous for the claims that it might have been the last painting Van Gogh has ever done, and that it was his “suicide note” painting but he had actually painted some more after this one. Nevertheless, a simple composition of this painting makes it one of the easy Van Gogh’s paintings to recreate.

2. Starry Night

Starry night is probably one of the most recognized Van Gogh’s paintings. It is dominated by a cypress tree with a small village in the back, but the most impressive part is the starry sky. Dark blue and bright yellow tones are mostly used.

1. Sunflowers

Apparently, everyone interested in trying out Van Gogh’s art should consider Sunflowers as one of the easiest Van Gogh paintings to recreate. Sunflowers encompass a series of Van Gogh’s still life paintings picturing sunflowers. But, among others, paintings of sunflowers in pots, like the ones in National Gallery in London, or Neue Pinakothek in Munich, are mostly recommended for recreating.