A Melbourne mural of US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has made international headlines.

The painting, which depicts Mrs Clinton in a revealing, stars-and-stripes swimsuit made news around the world after it was deemed offensive.

The creator of the painting, a street artist who goes by the name Lushsux and who has also painted murals of the likes of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and celebrity Kim Kardashian, branded the calls to remove it "pathetic".

The provocative mural was displayed on the wall of a small business in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray, and reports have said the business had been asked by the local Maribyrnong Council to remove it.

Council chief executive Stephen Wall said the mural was offensive.

"We believe it is offensive because of the depiction of a near-naked woman, not on the basis of disrespect to Hillary Clinton, in accordance with the Graffiti Prevention Act 2007," he said.

Wall said local police had been asked to urgently provide their opinion on the mural, adding that the council intended to issue a notice to the building's owner to remove it within 10 days.

Lushsux accused the council of being out of control, and said the mural was "on par offence-wise" with a deodorant ad.

Speaking on Melbourne radio, Lushsux said he suspected that his Instagram account, which he said had some 110,000 followers, was deleted due to him posting a photo of the risque image of Mrs Clinton.

"It's hard enough to be an artist ... to lose your social media following in this day and age is a big loss," he said.

Lushsux shows no sign of changing his style. Asked what he planned next, he said: "I might paint a big mural of Trump in similar style."

Artist weighs in on US presidential campaign

This was not the first time the Instagram-famous artist attracted media attention for his satirical murals.

Lushsux has painted a series of murals and artworks uploaded to his popular Instagram account that make light of recent events in the US presidential race.

Aside from Mrs Clinton, subjects of his murals include Bernie Sanders, Melania and Donald Trump, all of which are popularly photographed and shared on Instagram.

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In memory of Taylor Smith...

Lushsux gained attention for his satirical mural that depicted Taylor Swift with the words, "In loving memory of Taylor Smith 1989 — 2016".

The mural that commemorated the singer's death followed after Swift's public dispute with rapper Kanye West that left her supposedly caught out after video evidence of a phone call was published in which Swift gives him permission to release his song Famous.

Previously, the two had publicly disputed the fact.

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Swift was not impressed with the artwork, threatening legal action if the wall relating to her was not removed.

The mural then underwent a series of satirical transformations over the following days, including a depiction of Harambe, a gorilla that was killed when a child got into his enclosure at a zoo and has since become a meme.

The mural, originally by Melbourne graffiti artist Lushsux, was altered to reference slain zoo gorilla Harambe. ( AAP: Rachel Gray )

AFP/ABC