Artist/Author, Rachel Druten is recognized for her commissioned portraits, contemporary paintings, and mixed-media prints, etchings and works in clay. She is a published author of historical and contemporary romance novels, children’s books, newsletters, newspaper and magazine articles.
Educated at UCLA, Rachel studied at Otis Art Institute, receiving her B.A. from Occidental College. During the 1980s and '90s she was the Owner/Director of the FOUR OAKS GALLERY in San Marino California, exhibiting such artists as Roger Kuntz, Arnold Meches and Peter Voulkos. She was on the Board of Directors of the Idyllwild School For Music and the Arts, now known as the Idyllwild Arts Academy; a member of the San Marino League, a docent at the Huntington Library in Pasadena and a member of the Pasadena Art Alliance. In 1995, Rachel moved to Palm Desert and became an art docent with the La Quinta Arts Foundation.
Inspired by her experiences with the Palm Springs Art Museum “Making Friends with the Masters,” and with the Idyllwild Arts Foundation Summer program, Rachel founded Tools For Tomorrow in 1999. This program is a non-profit, 501 (c) 3 arts literacy enrichment program integrating art, music, drama, writing and performance that is provided free to children grades 3 through 5 in elementary schools throughout the Coachella Valley. Toolsfortomorrow.org
On the board of directors of Tools For Tomorrow and the Desert Friends Of Music, Rachel is active in the Artists Council and the Western Arts Council of the Palm Springs Art Museum.
Rachel has exhibited in the Los Angeles Art Association, the Palm Springs Art Museum and in shows throughout Southern California. Her work is in collections throughout the United States.
In recent years, Rachel was named “Woman of Distinction in the Arts” by the National Pen Women in 2007, and in 2015 was initiated into the Palm Desert Rotary Education Hall of Fame “In Recognition of her Lifelong Dedication, Leadership and Commitment in Education.” In 2019 she received the “DAR Community Service Award.”