A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, in dotsSeurat, 1884 to 1886, made of small dots of colour. Parisians in a park by the river.
Almond Blossoms against a blue skyVan Gogh, 1890, made for his baby nephew. Twisting branches covered in blossom.
Café Terrace at NightVan Gogh, 1888. A yellow lit terrace, a starry blue sky and cobbles.
Girl with a Pearl Earring, head and turbanVermeer, about 1665. A glance over the shoulder, a turban and one very large pearl.
The Great Wave off Kanagawa, simplifiedHokusai's woodblock print of about 1831: a curling wave, three boats and Mount Fuji small behind.
Impression, Sunrise in blue and orangeMonet, 1872, the port of Le Havre. Blue-grey haze, a red sun, two small rowing boats.
The Kiss, the couple wrapped in goldKlimt, 1907 to 1908, with gold leaf. Two figures in patterned robes at the edge of a flowery meadow.
The Mona Lisa, head and folded handsLeonardo painted it in oil on a poplar panel. Soft shading, no hard edges, hands folded.
Mondrian's Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow1930. Thick black lines, one big red square, a small blue one, a yellow corner.
Show all 50 artworks (41 more)
Whole work, simplified, continued
One corner of Monet's lily pondMonet painted about 250. Flat pads in ellipses on dark water, a few pink flowers.
The Scream in three coloursMunch, 1893. A wavy orange sky, a fjord below and a pale figure on a path.
The Starry Night, simplified to swirls and one cypressVan Gogh, 1889. Big spiral strokes for the sky, a dark flame of a cypress, a small village below.
Tiger in a Tropical Storm, the jungle and the tigerRousseau, 1891: a tiger lit by lightning, crouched in plants bent by a gale.
Van Gogh's Bedroom in ArlesFlat colours, no shadows, a bed, two chairs and pictures on the walls.
Van Gogh's Sunflowers in their vaseA round vase, a crowd of flower heads, some bowing. The Arles set of 1888 shows them in a vase.
Wanderer above the Sea of FogFriedrich, 1818. A man seen from behind on a rock, fog and ridges below.
One detail 18
A Mondrian grid in just black linesRule a few thick black lines at right angles; leave most boxes white.
The Bedroom's two chairsTwo chairs in butter yellow, flat colour and no shadows.
The Café Terrace's yellow lanternOne glowing lamp, with yellow light spilling onto the wall and ground.
The Great Wave's claw of foamOnly the crest: white fingers of foam curling over a band of deep blue.
The Kiss's two patterned robesHis robe has geometric patterns, hers flowers. Fill two shapes, one with each.
The Mona Lisa's smileThe corners of the mouth fade into shadow rather than ending in a line.
Monet's red sun and its reflectionOne small orange circle and broken orange dashes on the water below.
Mount Fuji as it sits under the Great WaveA small snow-capped triangle, framed by the curve of the water.
One branch of Almond BlossomA twisting branch and five-petal white flowers along it.
One Monet water lily on its notched padOne round pad with a notch and a flower of pointed petals.
One Van Gogh sunflower headA thick disc of seeds and ragged yellow petals, some curling back.
The Pearl Earring's single pearlOne drop shape with a bright highlight and a soft reflection underneath.
Rousseau's tiger face peeking through leavesStripes, round eyes and big flat leaves overlapping in front.
The Scream's face aloneAn oval head, hands pressed to the cheeks, round eyes and an open mouth.
Seurat's parasol lady in dots onlyOne figure with a parasol, built entirely from coloured dots.
The Starry Night's cypress on its ownA tall dark flame shape made of wavy vertical strokes. He painted it larger than life.
The Starry Night's moon and one swirl of skyJust the moon in its glowing rings and one curl of blue beside it.
The Wanderer's back view aloneA figure from behind in a long coat, walking stick in hand, on a rock.
Your own version 16
A café near you, painted at nightWarm yellow for the lit window, deep blue sky and a few stars.
A friend posed like Girl with a Pearl EarringLook back over one shoulder, a scarf wrapped as a turban, one earring.
A puddle painted the way Monet saw his pondSoft dabs of colour for reflected sky and one leaf floating in it.
Almond Blossom as a card for a new babyThe same blossoming branches, with the baby's name among the flowers.
The Great Wave breaking over your bathtubKeep the curl and the foam claws; swap the boats for a rubber duck.
Sunflowers in the vase on your kitchen tableYour own jug, the same crowded, drooping heads, a flat yellow wall behind.
Two teddy bears in a Kiss-style golden robeGeometric shapes on one, flowers on the other, all in gold.
Your bedroom door in Mondrian coloursThe same black grid, the red, blue and yellow boxes where you want them.
Your cat as The ScreamKeep the hands on the cheeks and the swirling sky; give it ears and whiskers.
Your dog sitting like the Mona LisaPaws folded, three-quarter turn, a hazy landscape behind.
Your local park in Seurat's dotsDraw the outlines lightly, then fill everything with dots of two or three colours.
Your morning view as an ImpressionA few blurred shapes, one bright sun, and quick dabs for its reflection.
Your own bedroom in Van Gogh's flat coloursYour real furniture, bold outlines, flat colour and no shadows.
Your own street under a Starry Night skyDraw your real rooftops, then fill the sky with Van Gogh's spiral strokes.
Your pet in a Rousseau jungleLayers of flat leaves and one animal peering out, lit by a flash.
Yourself from behind above the cloudsStand on a rock shape, back to the viewer, with fog lines below.
How this list was compiled: Original list written for Draw This Next on 2026-09-24: 50 ways into 16 famous public-domain artworks, in three groups (the whole work simplified, one detail, your own version). Artists, dates and details checked on Wikipedia on 2026-09-24, all under https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/: The_Starry_Night, The_Great_Wave_off_Kanagawa, Sunflowers_(Van_Gogh_series), Water_Lilies_(Monet_series), The_Scream, Girl_with_a_Pearl_Earring, Mona_Lisa, The_Kiss_(Klimt), A_Sunday_Afternoon_on_the_Island_of_La_Grande_Jatte, Composition_with_Red,_Blue_and_Yellow, Tiger_in_a_Tropical_Storm, Wanderer_above_the_Sea_of_Fog, Impression,_Sunrise, Bedroom_in_Arles, Café_Terrace_at_Night, Almond_Blossoms. Works still in copyright were left out. No item repeats a title from any other list on the site. Licence: own work
How it works
Easy art to recreate starts with a famous painting cut down to its big idea: Van Gogh's swirls, Mondrian's black grid, Seurat's dots. Here are 16 of them, 50 ways in, from one detail to your own version.
Read the full guide
Start with one detail
One detail holds 18, each a small part of the painting that carries its style: the Great Wave's claw of foam, one Van Gogh sunflower head, the Mona Lisa's smile. Get that right and the whole painting is next.
Make it yours
Your own version keeps the famous composition and swaps the subject: your cat as The Scream, your street under a Starry Night sky, a café near you painted at night. It is the version people recognise and laugh at.
Look up the real painting and keep it beside you. Copy its colours, not a print's.
Sign your copy 'after Van Gogh' or 'after Monet'. That is how artists label a study of another's work.
Questions and answers
What is the easiest famous painting to recreate?
Mondrian's Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow from 1930: thick black lines at right angles and three coloured boxes. A ruler and three paints are enough.
Can I draw these instead of painting them?
Yes. Coloured pencils suit the Almond Blossoms and the Sunflowers, pens suit the Great Wave, and felt tips make good Seurat dots.
Why these 16 paintings?
They are widely known, their artists died long ago, and each has one clear idea a beginner can copy. Newer famous paintings are still in copyright, so they are left out.