Scam Alert -

The artist who says she’s Andy Warhol’s cousin and claims Kanye West hired her to paint Kim Kardashian ... may be trying to have her own 15 minutes of fame …  because Kim says she has no clue who the woman is.
Monica Warhol – a Tucson artist whose style is similar to Andy’s – says Kanye’s people contacted her two weeks ago … and gave her a pic of Kim and asked her to create a screen painting of the photo.Warhol says she’s already created 9 different Kim paintings  ... and says her pieces generally sell for $20K to $70K apiece.But sources close to Kim tell TMZ …  she’s never heard of the woman … and thinks the whole thing may be a scam or a way for Warhol to get publicity – her 15 minutes of fame.When we called Warhol back, she gave us an explanation for why she's being rebuffed by Kim & Kanye ... she thinks the painting may have been intended as a surprise gift ... and now that the surprise has been ruined ... K&K don't want it. Warhol says if this deal falls through, she’ll put the artwork up for sale to anyone who wants to buy it.