'Please Look,' - Pictures from Poland

impr0v

In the past four or five weeks three, ostensibly at least, students from Poland have called to my door trying to sell their pencil drawn pictures. Either they are all apprentices to the same master draftsman or a lot of Polish artists share the same style because the pictures looked suspiciously similar, in subject as well as style. Some things that cropped up regularly were a very Polish pope (the student usually exclaims 'il papa!' when he is displayed) a horse, a castle, and a horse prancing in front of a castle. In other words everything a person could possibly desire to hang over the fireplace.

Their method of beginning the conversation was also very similar, they said 'Please Look' and handed over a neatly written and laminated piece of graph paper with an explanation of how they are in their final year of Art college in Poland and are trying raise money to cover their fees, but don't speak any English. Obviously being short of money and English, It then makes perfect sense to travel nearly the full length of the EU to an English speaking country to sell your pictures at 5 euro a pop.

I felt guilty after telling the first guy to get the hell of my (rented) property before i shot him, but now that the other two have turned up i feel better since it's obviously some kind of organised thing where suitably innocent and down-trodden looking young men tramp the footpaths of provincial towns trying to offload mass-produced 'art'. Has anyone else encountered them?

pickarooney

No, but I had a guy called Art try to sell me polish last week.

joe.

pickarooney wrote:

No, but I had a guy called Art try to sell me polish last week.

10/10

StupidLikeAFox

yeah happened to me alright. Told them my parents werent around, he wasnt pushy or anything. Oh the joys of being 17!

Dr. Loon

Yes, a girl called to our door and my girlfriend answered it. I was going to shout through to my girlfriend to tell whoever it was to fúck off, but then I thought I'd be nice for a change. She was Polish, had just moved to Ireland two weeks, uses pencil and charcoals, and uses fixative so the charcoals etc. don't smear. She spoke perfect English, and had no fixed price.

I quite liked one drawing, so asked if she could come back as I was a but smashed for cash. She told us she lived in Drogheda and may not be back, so I gave her a tenner and that was that. I saw no scam in it.

Although, there were a few pictures of horses, and one of an old kind of cottage. I bought one of some boats on a lake. It's very good.

eth0_

Yeah one of them called to my parents house a few months ago - he was trying to sell his (not particularly brilliant) drawings for 100 euro though, not a fiver!

Maximilian

Take your lad out when you open the door and simply piss on them, they won't come back. Works on Mormons anyway.

joejoem

A guy called to my door and asked if my parents were in, I replied thats a bad line to open with, this is my house, now go away. I then closed the door and turned off the outside light, you cant see a thing when its off. Had a good laugh about it then.