…in the Gervais saga. Here’s a firsthand report from an artist who contacted me recently:
I was at last year’s show at the Holiday Inn in Missoula, MT. There was no advertising, not even a sign, until one of the artists’ husbands put one up. It was supposed to bennefit the Wildlife Film Festival with a reception for a couple hours. Nobody showed up except two film festival people. That Sunday was Mother’s Day so we had some traffic from the Mother’s Day brunch in the next room. At the time I thought he was just an inexperienced promoter but after talking to other artists at other shows I am starting to realize just how bad he is. Not one person who has done business with him has anything good to say about him. Looking at his web sites this year it looks like he is having it [the Missoula show] again but in one place it says it is at the fairgrounds. At another place it says the Holiday Inn. I wonder if he is using the tax exempt status of these non-profits for some sort of tax break for himself. By the way that is him on the MySpace page……..definitely!
I just learned today that the Missoula show that was to take place in a few weeks has been cancelled by Mr. Gervais; he has promised refunds to all the exhibiting artists. I sincerely hope the refunds materialize.
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April 22nd, 2009 at 8:14 pm
This is so sad. I don’t understand why people are like this and how they can get away with it. WE NEED JUSTICE!!!!!
Thank You Julie for sharing! I hope we reach all fellow Artists before its too late!
I still have heard NO word from him. My show was canceled in early October 2008 and still NO refund. I see he is doing the show again this year (Oregon). He states its the 2nd Annual Pacific Rim Art Show. I wonder how he can say it’s the 2nd Annual when he never had the first one????
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:37 pm
I just went to his show website. There are now separate websites for the first two shows and they both list the participants; nine for Missoula and a bunch more for the one in Alberta. It would make sense for someone who has had dealings with him to drop an email to those other artists, plus the BC show, so they at least can’t say they weren’t warned.
I imagine that the (cancelled) Missoula show artists are going to have to fight to get their money back, just like everyone else.
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:05 am
Did any of his victims get his credit report yet? That will tell you whether you have a snowball’s chance of getting a refund.
As for justice, don’t hold your breath. Artists are not high priority with law enforcement. You may have to settle for exposing his business practices and informing as many artists as possible via the grapevine and the internet.
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:36 am
Kathy, another shyster art show promoter is doing federal prison time and up for $750,000 restitution for mail fraud, so there is much better than a snowball’s chance of this guy getting what he deserves.
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Just came across this link for one of the artists who had been planning to do the Missoula show: http://www.christydaniels.com/shows.htm .
Her web page invites anyone to ask her about the shows.
April 23rd, 2009 at 5:00 pm
All - I note Christy has on her website that the Missoula show was “cancelled by Promoter of Wildlife Art Shows” in red. Mr. G has removed a number of shows from his schedule at http://www.wildlifeartshows.com/Wildlife_Art_Shows.html but still has them ALL listed on the other “Show Schedules” page http://www.westernwildlifemag.com/artshows2009.asp . If you compare the two you will see how many were removed. The feature artist from Kansas City Show cancelled his participation.
I wish all those waiting for refunds the best of luck. I doubt any of us will ever see any of those $$. All we can do is make sure others are aware of his less than ethical business practices. Perhaps we can all get together as Plaintiffs and file one single complaint against him in PA civil court.
April 24th, 2009 at 8:31 am
Julie - have you contacted her?
April 24th, 2009 at 10:04 am
Angie - I haven’t been to any of Gervais’ shows, so have no reason to, but would encourage others who are interested (or may be considering a Gervais show) to get in touch with her.
April 24th, 2009 at 11:51 am
I emailed Christy in a very generic manner simply requesting info about Wildlife Art Shows - she has not yet responded.
April 24th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
I received an email and phone call from Christy detailing their experience (and a new twist). I am not at liberty to share here the contents of either, but if you would like to hear of her (and the other artists’ experience), email her and she will gladly respond.
April 24th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Julie, just tried the Christie Daniel’s link and it didn’t work.
April 24th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Julie - the link is picking up the ending period - and thus, it isn’t working. Susan - copy the link without the ending period and paste in browser - it should work.
April 25th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Susan, Marti - thanks for the heads-up, duh. I went back and edited my post with the link (#5) so that should work straight off now.
April 29th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Great News! The PA Attorney General is contacting those who filed complaints! If you have cause to file a complaint, but haven’t yet, please do so!
May 5th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Just got an interesting call on my cell phone. The caller refused identify himself, but said he’d found me on “Julie’s site” and was at pains to point out that I had misspelled Gervais’ name and then told me exactly how it was to be spelled and pronounced. Said Gervais was tied to organized crime in Philadelphia. Said he wasn’t threatening me. Said he was a victim. I told him that, in that case, he needed to get in touch with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office. Caller said they were aware of him (Gervais). Said Gervais was tied to organized crime in Philadelphia again. I said ok or some neutral noise. End of call.
I have left a message with an agent of the San Francisco FBI office that I want to report a threatening phone call.
Anybody else gotten a similar call?
My iPhone indicated “Unknown caller” and I don’t care to publicly speculate who the caller might have been.
May 5th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
A totally mindless attempt to intimidate one person, who then spreads the word to others, who then become fearful and back off. I suggest anyone who gets a phone call, report him to the PA Attorney General. And I do wish he would call me! I’d be interested in hearing what the SF FBI had to say…
May 5th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
They also suggested contacting the PA AG. And that if i wanted to leave a report, to call my local law enforcement. Which I will probably do.
So, what episode of The Sopranos did I end up in momentarily, never having seen it?
May 5th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Ok, it looks like “someone” was trolling through this post at 12:47 and thereabouts today.
My “unknown” call came in at, amazingly enough, 12:48. What a coincidence.
Email me for info more information on how to see if you’ve been visited.
May 5th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Looks like my website was hit at 12:47:13 from “someone”.
May 7th, 2009 at 6:43 am
I guess I can unfortunately add myself to the list of Christopher Gervais latest victims…I paint cats & dogs, tiger cubs & baby elephants and was thinking that the Pacific Northwest Wildlife & western art Show would be my first until 2 days ago I thought it would be in Enumclaw,WA june13-14….I was told about christopher by Gina Robertson at the Snow Leopard Trust(I’m one of their artists)…After making plane reservations, I e-mailed Gina & found out that the Snow leopard Trust had withdrawn from the show(because of Gervais AND that the date of the show had been changed to Aug.22. I e-mailed Christopher 2x asking for clarification(haven’t even asked for my money back yet) have heard nothing from him. He asked to meet me here in NYC (where I live) for coffee once….it’s pretty clear he’s someone w/issues…..I feel terrible for everyone else whose story I have read here….thank goodness for Julie’s Blog! Before I became AN artist I got an MBA so I know a little bit about business law and I think we might be able to do something if we all get together….I belong to an organization called Fractured Atlas which helps artists and I
will give them a call & report back. take care everybody….
May 7th, 2009 at 8:26 am
Thank You Melissa!! I really encourage you to contact the Attorney General of PA if you are a victim. Here is their website http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/ . The more people that FILE COMPLAINTS the more they will do.
Keep us posted!
May 7th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Melisssa, I emailed a contact I have who knows the Snow Leopard Trust folks and asked that they be given a heads up. Guess they got one. If any of you know any of the other, ahem, beneficiaries listed on Gervais’ website, consider contacting them. Life is hard enough for non-profits these days without getting dragged down by this guy.
Also, under NO circumstances meet with him. See comment #15. It was creepy enough that I called the FBI and spoke to an agent. I also have a call in to the Penn. AG’s office.
I also have the means to track the calls now.
May 7th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
I wished I had found this blog about 6 months ago when I first had contact with C. Gervais. I represent Andrew Kiss and I am also his daughter. We signed up to do a show in Alberta, Canada and I will just say that things are not going well. With the information from this blog and other sources I was able to spread the word to artists in Alberta and British Columbia. I did quote a few posts I found here and also emails I have received from the organizations he claims to support. I think the most important thing is to make sure everyone is aware of what this man is doing and try our best to put a stop to it. Please contact me for further information as I apparently have a lawsuit being brought on by Mr. Gervais due to my contact with other artists. Thanks to everyone for information posted - without it there would be many artists attending a show in a high school gym or curling rink. Our artists deserve so much better than that!
May 7th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Rita - do not fret - CJG is very good at threats and intimidation. You have every right to contact fellow artists and relay information. He threatened me as well. My response to him was: “I am aware that numerous artists have filed complaints against you with the PA Attorney General’s office and numerous other governmental and non-governmental agencies and as a result warnings have been issued regarding your less than ethical business practices. If you have a problem with what is being said, I suggest you contact those agencies. I am sure they would love to hear from you.” Feel free to use the same quote.
BTW - I received correspondence today from the PA attorney general as a result of the complaint I filed and I will be responding to them when I return from Wichita.
This is the ONLY way we can stop him. File a complaint if you are a victim. Enough complaints may trigger a further investigation by not only the PA AG, but other agencies that oversee charitable organizations - including the IRS.
May 8th, 2009 at 11:08 am
I filed a complaint with the PA attorney general. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do. Hopefully we can get an investigation going. Thanks again to everyone involved!!
May 8th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Hi Rita - I was a victim of CJG too. I was the first one to come forward after Lori’s experience with him and the Wildlife Art Magazine. I spoke to an FBI agent here in my town and this is was she suggested I do…. I’m not sure if this will change anything since it looks like your in Canada, but give it a shot. The more complaints the more we are heard.
File a complaint with the Attorney General of PA - which you did
File a complaint with IC3.gov (sponsered by the FBI) http://www.ic3.gov
File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau http://www.bbb.org
File a complaint with Ripoff Reports http://www.ripoffreport.com or I filed with them you can also add a report on my file. Here is the link
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/441/RipOff0441275.htm
I hope this helps and THANK YOU for stepping up and sharing your story. I would like to hear the full story, so If you are interested feel free to email me.
Regards,
Angie
May 14th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
I am sending off my packet to the PA Attorney General. I included copies of the postings from the Sunshine Artist Forum just to show them this dirt bag needs to be stopped! I did NOT include any postings from this or any other site relative to the most recent claims. I also gave them his picture and his home address and telephone number - just in case he claims to be “Troy Marsh” when they go to arrest him.
May 14th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Just reviewed the WAS website - long gone are the many shows he had previously listed. Snow Leopard Trust has been removed from the conservation organizations page; and his “advisory board” is no longer listed. Instead of listing himself as CEO of the “magazine” he is now simply editor and publisher. Wonder if Troy Marsh is now CEO - HA HA. Anybody care to go on that Kenya trip he’s sponsoring. Wonder how many folks have put a “deposit” on that????
May 14th, 2009 at 7:54 pm
He’s still using the Snow Leopard Trust logo on one page. I’ve written to them to let them know. He also has the SAA logo and a link in his LInks page. I’ve dropped an email note to the President letting her know about it.
Somebody who knows him really needs to contact Terry Isaac and clue him in.
May 14th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
Susan and all: I have emailed the AFC and reported his doings to them. I note that several of the Alberta and BC exhibitors are AFC members. I would like permission to use some of the posts here if the AFC requires more information. Please either let me know by posting here or on my own blog http://www.martimillington.wordpress.com
I have a blog entry on this subject and you can comment there. Perhaps the AFC will contact Terry Isaac for his input as to CJG.
May 15th, 2009 at 7:29 am
All - I received an email from the AFC this morning in response to mine. They are drafting a scam alert warning which will be available to their artists. I’m told they had been hearing “bits and pieces” about him, but the details I provided were enough to cause them to issue the alert.
May 15th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
I wrote to Jeff pretty early on, along with another artist I know, who wrote to him also. But neither of us had actually done any shows with him (she was only signed up for one in Canada) or dealt with him directly (I don’t think my phone call qualifies as “direct”
) like you have, so that’s great that they will post a warning. I directed Jeff to this blog, but don’t know if he’s had a chance to look at it. They’ve been buried in show stuff, plus launching me and the previous grant recipient.
Good Job!
May 20th, 2009 at 7:07 am
I spoke to a art show producer who received an email from CG. Apparently CG is now emailing and inviting top art show producers/promoters from the west to a seminar in PA. Can you believe he thinks he can teach anyone how to run a show!?! He is starting to get known by the artists I talk to. I still haven’t found even ONE artist that has had any dealings with him that doesn’t have a bad story to tell.
Christy
P.S. I’ve now broken my silence publicly on CG. It really ticks me off to see my friends getting shafted by this guy.
May 20th, 2009 at 11:43 am
“….emailing and inviting top art show producers/promoters from the west to a seminar in PA”
All he can teach them is how to screw artists and stay, for the time being, one step ahead of the law.
Christy, he has only succeeded in the past, I believe, because he ran generic festivals where people didn’t really know each other. When he decided to move in on the wildlife/animal art world, he didn’t realize that we are a supportive community that “talks” to each other. He probably thinks that’s cheating, somehow. We’re all supposed to walk to the slaughter, writing checks, like good little lambs.
Your post is really appreciated!
May 20th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Wildlife Art Shows is “sponsoring” a trip to Kenya in support of the Gallman Foundation. I doubt that given recent events at the preserve, any trip would now be possible. Click this link to see why: http://www.gallmannkenya.org/news.html - I truly hope this place can recover. Artists who sent their $400 deposit to CG are now in the same boat some of his “exhibitors” are - waiting for a “refund” that will most likely never come. I would note that there is nothing on his website of this devastating event or any indication that the trip will continue.
June 12th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
I must say CG is really getting attention and all negative which is great! Yes, I’ve been in one of his shows and he’s really something else to deal with. I’ve talked to several of his past art show artists and there is nothing but negative words.
I remember last year when he was “suppose” to have the Pacific Rim Art Show in Portland Or. He was giving us artists at he Enumclaw Expo Show first dibs on site for a $100.00 off. But most of us had already desided that he was a “whatever”.
Then I started following his shows and other artists started calling me and I told them do not enter his shows. You will never see your $$ nor will there be a good attendence. Since he does not advertise very well for some reason he thinks the artists should do the advertising.
I’ve also talked to an artist in BC Canada, he and others were going to be in the show in Alberta, I told him to call ahead and make sure there was a show and if not they were out of their money.
Marti, Thanks for contacting me and the others. Yes he’s removed me from his site, it only took 2 months or so for him to do this, he’s such a busy person. Also, to all of those who were planning on being in his Enumclaw Expo Show or in the Kent Commons Show, there are NO SHOWS. He really has to book them to show they may be there, also just checked to site for the Pacific Rim Show and guess what, it’s not on thier calandar either.
I’m sure the folks thinking they were going to get a great chance to go to Kenya to study the Wildlife are out their $400. and hopefully thats all they are out of. So lets keep after this person and get him one way or another, he’s really a rat and thats something we do not need in the art world, it’s rough enough out there for artists.
Good luck to all of you. SAZ