I really wish that EA or a modder would make it so that when you click on a easel a menu will come up, one of the options being "paint...." where you can browse the paintings your sim has "unlocked" and they will paint whatever you click on. Then there could be a second "free paint" or "discover new painting" option where your sim paints a random picture they've never painted before in order to unlock new paintings.
This would be great for when I'm trying to decorate a space but none of the paintings you can buy really fit, and when I don't really want to make my sim paint for days on end until he/she finally makes a painting that fits the mood of the room. :D
sorry if someone already said something like this, I didn't read all the comments before mine :P