did or made a painting

[Liza]

Hi,

I've just read in a book:

'He did a lot of paintings and posters.'

Could you tell me why 'did' is used and not 'made'?

Thanks

[Mister Micawber]

.
That is the usual collocation; there is no other reason than I can think of offhand. Did and make (along with other common verbs) have various idiomatic uses.
.
_________________
Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

[Jamie (K)]

You can also use "made" in that sentence and say, "He made a lot of paintings and posters." It's also possible to say, "He created a lot of paintings and posters." "Did" in that sentence sounds just on the edge of slang to me, but not quite slang. I don't think I'd use "did paintings and posters" in a formal article about art (and I have a painting degree and used to write for art magazines).

[Lost_Soul]

Hi, Jamie & MM,

But in the sentence "I did a lot of painting" (i.e. I painted a lot), "did" cannot be superseded by "made", can it ?

[Jamie (K)]

[Tom]