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Which one is more correct?

  1. She made this painting for a friend.

  2. She did this painting for a friend.

I performed a websearch and it seems both are used. When I was learning English at school, I was told that make should be used in case something is produced. Does that make sense?

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    Welcome to ell, why do you think one of them is wrong? What is your own opinion? You can edit your question and add your own opinion as well as the research you did about this question. – Cardinal Jun 24 '17 at 9:33
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    There are plenty of verbs you could use: painted, sketched, created, produced, crafted, or drew, to name a few. None of these are “more correct,” but there may be slightly different nuances to different words. – J.R.♦ Jun 24 '17 at 9:35
  • @J.R. thank you. Is it really ok to say "painted a painting"? The repetition sounds bad to me. – reg Jun 24 '17 at 10:34
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    It’s a little inelegant, but it’s still acceptable. Type "painted a painting" into Google and check out the News stories; you’ll find a smattering of hits. – J.R.♦ Jun 24 '17 at 10:47
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Both verbs sound fine within this context:

  • She made this painting for a friend. - She created it; she produced it.
  • She did this painting for a friend. - She was working on it.

The verb "do" mostly focuses on the process and the action while "make" focuses mainly on the result. (Cambridge - Do or make?)

But as Google Ngram shows "make a painting" is more popular:

As J.R. commented you can use painted, sketched, created, produced, crafted, or drew instead. However, each of these words carries a different meaning (see their definitions).

If you are unsure which verb to choose make "painting" the verb:

  • She painted this for a friend.
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