Artist turns monkey nuts into stars

A nutty artist has transformed the humble peanut into a host of famous faces.

Steve Casino carefully paints the nuts with facial features and give them clothes and props to create his caricatures.

The US artist has recreated the likes of current Dr Who Matt Smith, Elton John, The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Johnny and June Cash, Sean Connery and Alfred Hitchcock out of monkey nuts.

Creating each of the mini masterpieces is a ten-hour process, which begins with sanding down the surface of a monkey nut.

Mr Casino then uses a tiny brush to painstakingly apply acrylic paint before creating arms, legs, and props from wood, bamboo or dense foam.

He said: "I hold my breath a lot while I paint the tiny lines and avoid drinking coffee while I'm working.

"I don't know how I get such precise results because I have the stubbiest of fingers.

"I spend a lot of time finding a peanut that is the right shape for the person I'm making, then I remove the nuts, glue it back together, and prepare one side for painting."

Once complete, Mr Casino sells his celebrity peanuts for between £200 and £330 each.