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A hairdresser says he has been inundated with requests from customers to buy his risqué artwork after discovering a new talent for oil painting.
Marcello Marino was on the lookout for new pieces to hang on the walls of his recently refurbished salon in Cliff Road, Ramsgate.
After working through the pandemic, the hairdresser – who came under fire for his comments on Channel 4's Come Dine With Me – wanted to give his studio a fresh look but struggled to find any artwork matching what he desired.
He said: "I wanted to put up some colours and I love red. I kept looking for artwork but I could not find the colours or the art I wanted.
"That is when I thought I'm going to paint it myself."
But it was only when Marcello struck up a conversation with a client who works as an artist that he discovered oil painting.
The dad-of-three attended a workshop and loved the work he produced so much he decided to hang them in his shop.
"It is just the colours I like," he said. "They have different textures and look very nice."
And now the pieces have caught the eye of customers who often make remarks about them to the salon owner.
Some have even offered to buy them and Marcello says he has been inundated with requests.
He even recently sold one of his first efforts to a Ramsgate-based artist after receiving a "generous offer", he says.
But some pieces have had a greater reaction than others.
One piece he dubs the "naked shoe" has sparked conversations among customers over whether it reflects a woman's stiletto or something more personal.
"Everyone can look at the piece and they can see something else," adds Marcello. "It is interpretation. I'm laid back about these things."
Another artwork in his studio wall depicting a nude woman's bust has also elicited one or two awkward questions.
Marcello said: "Everyone keeps saying is that your wife? And I don't say anything."
It's not the first time the hairdresser has courted controversy, after his appearance on Come Dine With Me leading him to receive death threats.
'I would never give up hairdressing I love it too much. For me it is not my work, it is a hobby I do with passion.'
After the show he was in the spotlight again after emerging victorious in a tussle with Thanet Council after erecting a 7ft by 4ft picture of his wife exposing her cleavage outside his shop.
The council had ordered it be taken down because it “lowered the tone” but Marcello disagreed, saying it was tastefully done.
Since then the hairdresser says he has been keeping himself grounded and has no plans to quit the day job despite now discovering a new hidden talent.
He said: "I would never give up hairdressing I love it too much. For me it is not my work, it is a hobby I do with passion.
"But I didn't realise I had this talent for art so I'm going to keep doing it."
