This Spanish artist paints famous scenes on banknotes and coins so her work can travel around the world.

Mari Roldan, 27, who comes from the Spanish city of Malaga, paints on Euro banknotes and coins and shares images of her work on Instagram for her 40,000 followers.

She said: “As long as you don’t cover more than 50 percent of the bill and leave the serial number visible, it’s totally legal.”

Mari paints famous scenes by artists such as Van Gogh, Picasso and Matisse on the money, which then goes into circulation and ends up travelling the world.

She said: “I wanted to be a flight attendant, but because I had tattoos I had to give it up, and that’s when it occurred to me to paint on money, so that by using it or paying with it, a part of me can travel the world.”

Mari told Newsflash: “One of my dreams has always been to travel, that’s why I wanted to be a flight attendant. Another dream is to become a renowned artist in the future.

“I would love to be able to exhibit all over the world so that anyone who likes what I do can see it in person.

“They are always surprised because they never expect you to pay them with a piece of art. Most people say directly that they are going to keep the bills.

“Most of them don’t get to travel a lot, but I also think it’s nice that they value art so much that they keep the painted money for themselves.”

Mari told Newsflash: “I have never had a painted banknote returned to me but I dream of one day finding one with the paint worn off and think of how many places it must have travelled.

“It takes two or three days for [i.e. to paint] a single note and if there is more than one bill at a time like with Picasso’s Guernica, which I did with three notes, it takes five days.”

She added: “My art is inspired by my grandfather’s cousin who painted movie posters in the 1950s.”