Irit Reed was born in Jerusalem, Israel.  She immigrated to the US in the 1980’s.  There, she discovered and fell in love with the Southwest in 2006.  She kept returning twice annually to photograph the Southwest until 2010 when necessary eyes surgeries left her legally blind and ended her independent travels.  In the fall of 2014, she moved to Escalante, Utah.

Finding herself inspired by local and visiting artists, especially during the annual Escalante Canyons Art Festival, she took up painting.  Initially, she used watercolors and pastels.  Later, she added oils and acrylics to her painting mediums.

Early paintings were met with polite comments.  Yet at the 2018 Escalante Canyons Art Festival, while displaying her work for the first time, she sold most of her paintings.

Since then, she has been invited annually to show her work at the Anasazi Museum State Park and the Red Canyon Visitor Center.  She also had two shows at the Serenidad Gallery in Escalante in 2019 and 2021.  Her originals, cards and prints are available at various businesses along Highways 12, 89, and 24.