About Rachel

Hi! I'm Rachel Drake, and I'm so glad you are here. 

As long as I can remember I've been drawn to anything involved with art, and I've been lucky to have art involved in my career for the majority of my adult life. 

I attended University of North Florida, where I ran track (400m hurdles) and studied psychology. I left college a year early when I had an opportunity to work with professional athletes. While it was the coolest job and something that may have become a long-term career, my world was turned upside down in 2014 when my brother passed away by suicide. 

Immediately following, I quit my high-travel job to spend more time with family and finish my degree in psychology at St Edward's University. Shortly after that another death rocked my world when my stepson (then two years old) lost his biological mom in a tragic boating accident. I became a full-time mom overnight at the age of 25 to a child who was grieving, while I was still deep in grief myself. 

That's when my art career truly began. At first, my goal in art was to get back into creating so that I could illustrate a children's picture book that I was writing about death and grief. Slowly the illustrating turned to larger scale painting and I began to pour myself onto each canvas. I found that expressing my grief and heartache via artwork resonated with others and in the process was the best therapy I had experienced.

My career blossomed. Since 2016 I've been fortunate to work with incredible people and collaborate with some of my favorite companies, including Still Austin, Canva, Saatchi Art, and more. In 2021 I began painting golf-related artwork and shortly after I signed to be represented by Digital Golf Collective. We are currently working with Topgolf and others on big things in the golf industry. 

In 2022 I partnered with Ashley Nussbaum to found Vaughn Art Gallery. We are focused on representing emerging to mid-career artists to support them in creating financially stable careers. This world revolves around art in many forms, and the artists that create it deserve to make a living wage.

When you purchase a piece from me, please know it means the world to myself and my two amazing kids. You are contributing to a living artist/single mom and making it possible for me to continue with art as my career. I hope I've been able to touch some of you with my art in the process. 

A heartfelt thank you for being here,

Rachel