Are there any easy to use image editing programs?

Shutter

It's a awesome program used for editing and annotating images.

Pinta

It's description seems to match your desires ;-)

Pinta is a drawing/editing program modeled on Paint.NET. Its goal is to provide a simplified alternative to the GIMP for casual users.

Features include:

Adjustments (Auto level, Black and White, Sepia, …) Multiple layers Unlimited undo/redo Drawing tools (Paintbrush, Pencil, Shapes, …)

It's in USC too so a mere sudo apt-get install pinta works too.

KolourPaint

KolourPaint is a simple drawing and image editing application for KDE. It aims to be easy to use, providing a level of functionality targeted towards the average user. It is ideal for common tasks such as drawing simple graphics and touching-up photos.