CHONGQING, CHINA - MAY 20: A student looks at one of the 14 carton buildings put up by the freshmen of architecture related majors in Chongqing University on May 20, 2013 in Chongqing, China. The contest requires participants to build a house of at least nine square meters in eight hours. PHOTOGRAPH BY Feature China / Barcroft Media

WUHAN, CHINA - MAY 18: A visitor poses with an art work during a multidimensional artwork exhibition on May 18, 2013 in Wuhan, China. Some 80 pieces of 3D visual work as well as movies with thrill ride were displayed in the exhibition which kicked off here Saturday. PHOTOGRAPH BY Xinhua /Landov / Barcroft Media

If you like art with a polished finish look no further than these incredible masterpieces painted using nail varnish. Famous faces such as Marilyn Monroe and the Mona Lisa have been cleverly brushed to perfection with the cosmetic product. Talented artist Cristiam Ramos spends roughly four to five weeks on each painting and has created 15 altogether. Cristiam said: "It's totally different to painting with normal paint because you cannot blend, it dries too fast and therefore you have to use very small amounts of paint on each application. "I always look for new challenges and many artists have copied classical works but nobody has done it in a material as hard to work with. "It dries in seconds which gives me a margin too short to blend colours. "People are amazed. They've said I'm crazy and that they've never seen anything like it. "When women find out it's nail polish, they tend to be more surprised because they know how hard it is to paint with." Cristiam says he goes through roughly 40-50 bottles for each painting which go up to 36 by 48 inches. He says each one costs him up to $1000 taking into account the polish, brushes and solvents. Cristiam said: "The only celebrity I've done is Marilyn Monroe and it was because she was particularly associated with feminine beauty and nail polish is part of the beauty in women. "The others are masterpieces of great painters such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Monet, van Gogh, and Georges Seurat." One of Cristiam's paintings will set you back between $4,000 to $9,000 depending on the size and complexity of the piece. He said: "I have to rest on average thirty minutes each time I work as the smell is very strong and I need to use a mask to work. I think that every day I have a headache, but it's worth it. "Sometimes I take the nail varnish from my wife if I need it."

BIKE-artist Josh Hadar is putting his own spin on bicycle design with his weird and wonderful homemade creations. The 44-year-old New Yorker builds eccentric two wheelers from his workshop in downtown Manhattan. From gleaming choppers to sleek tricycles, Josh's work wows bystanders as he cruises round the Big Apple. The unique creations range in price from £7,000 to £45,000, and he has costumers all over the world clamoring for his one-off designs. Josh, who is completely self-taught, said: "I only became interested in building bikes after discovering a stash of abandoned bicycles in a dumpster one night. "I dragged them back to my workshop and began taking them apart. "My first creation was a monster made from five different bikes - my welds were the size of fists. "But when people saw the Franken-bike they loved it and I got orders to make more." Six years later Josh has a workshop full of unique designs - and even his production methods are homemade. He said: "In the beginning I was bending metal by hand without heating it. "I would by some tubing then take it outside and bend it round fire hydrants, trees, sign posts and garbage can - anything I could find. "These days very few things are made completely from scratch, but every inch of my bikes is hand made - no two are ever the same. "Sometimes I just wing it and make a bike without any plans or designs - I just make it up as a go along. "People are really drawn to what makes these bikes different, so the more radical the design, the more I think people are interested." Many of Josh's bikes are powered by a small motor, with colourful glass petrol tanks being incorporated into the frame. And Josh has plans for the future to make his work more environmentally friendly. He said: "I'm interested in different fuels to power my bikes, such as solar energy. "Anybody can build a solar powered bike - but in order for people to get interested in it, it’s gotta turn your head. "My take on eco-friendly is that it can be luxurious, sexy and fun - if done in the right way."

A FORMER tree surgeon has turned artist to hand-carve these intricate models. Rob Heard, 47, from Somerset, creates the "Bough Houses" from Leylandii, a tree that has no real use once felled. Ex-tree surgeon Rob hit on the idea of creating the sculptures as a way of staving off boredom following a car accident that laid him up for six months. He said: "I wanted to make them from Leylandii because as a tree surgeon I knew they were a thug of a tree with little or no use once felled. "I started making the Bough Houses for my daughters to play with and they are very much for the kids. "I love it when we have taken the sculptures to fairs and children rush up and start touching them. Their parents are always screaming for them not to touch them. "But I want them to be art you can play with."

Bonifacio, Corsica - MAY 6: View of beach of Palombaggia which is one of the island's finest and most popular on May 6, 2013 in Bonifacio, Corsica. PHOTOGRAPH BY Piero Cruciatti / Barcroft Media