The artist formerly from the South Bend and Chicago area recently relocated to Southern Michigan to be closer to Wildlife.
Niles, MI (PRUnderground) September 2nd, 2026
Visual artist Russell Frantom has had a fascination with animals of all kinds since he was a child. Often incorporating his love for wildlife and nature into his artwork, he says he recently relocated to Michigan to get closer to nature and go back to his roots in his artwork.
"I briefly considered relocating to Los Angeles, but I have spent too much time in cities. I got a bit too morbid in some of my artwork in recent years, and I wanted to go back to my roots and I have always loved animals." Says Frantom
It was recently reported that Frantom has started traveling to different destinations (The Everglades, South Africa, etc) to find different animals, notably reptiles and snakes, to photograph and incorporate in his upcoming artwork. He explains:
"I really wanted to take a break from doing art shows for a while and start doing the things I love again. I want to create personal artworks with their own stories attached to them to celebrate the diversity of wildlife. I decided I wanted to start going places and raising awareness of how awesome our planet is. I'm a painter it is all I know."
From colorful and plump cats, sea life and even lemurs live painted at a zoo, Frantom says he feels happy when he focuses on our planet and it's beautiful creatures. He says he is also a dog and cat lover and has two of each, often incorportaing his own pets in his work.
Russell Frantom says he wants to begin demonstrating positivity and focusing on the beauty of our planet instead of darker themes that he has have affected his mental health in recent years.
"Art was death for me for a while, and I want it to be life again" he says.
He begins traveling this September, and says he wants his new artwork to be a celebration of animals and nature.
