Local artist mourned after accidental death

UPDATE: 3/09/17

68-year-old artist Susan Smith Evans died in the unincorporated area of Riverside County in Cahuilla Hills.

“We were soul mates in art, teaching and in our personal lives,” said her husband Ron Evans.

Evans said he wants to paint a picture for others to share who his wife was and still is through his eyes. He said at home, her studio was where she spent most of her time.

“When she was working she would close the door. She wouldn’t let the animals in and I couldn’t see what she was doing but when she was done she would bring out these beautiful pieces of art.

He said her art canvassed the connection between man and nature. He recounted the day when her painting of her grandparents got her hired at College of the Desert, where he also worked years ago.

“It was raining and the painting behind me blew off her Volkswagen bug, and a highway patrol [officer] stopped and helped her put it back on again and she drove into College of the Desert,” Evans said.

As you walk into their house, her art fills the walls of the home they once shared. After 33 years together, Evans says he lost the love of his life Monday night in their driveway after she got out of the car.

“She didn’t put the brake on. She left it in neutral and the car rolled back onto the road and unfortunately came forward and she happened to be in front of the car and it dragged her under,” Evans said.

College of the Desert sent a statement that said “Ron and Susan taught thousands of our students, instilling in them their love of art. Susan’s knowledge of art in many different mediums — photography, printmaking and painting — was unique in the art world and she joyfully shared it with our students and campus community.”

Evans said his wife’s legacy will live on in the home they shared, the murals she painted and the art they both loved.

“Absolutely broken. I’m still recovering but it’s going to take a long time but I have the strength of her art and the wonderful people that are with me,” Evans said.

Evans said his late wife will be cremated and her ashes will be given out at her memorial in the next two to three weeks. Evans said he wants his wife’s remains to be spread where people who loved her feel the most at peace.

In lieu of flowers at the memorial, Evans is asking friends and family to donate to the Desert Art Center in Palm Springs and Venus Studios in Palm Desert in honor of Susan Smith Evans.

For more of her art and photography, visit her website.

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Original story: 3/06/17

A former part-time art professor at College of the Desert was killed Monday night when her vehicle rolled back over her while she was in a driveway.

The California Highway Patrol identified the victim Thursday as 68-year-old Palm Desert resident, Susan Smith Evans.

KESQ and CBS Local 2 is working to get more details about the incident, which remains under investigation. Officials with College of the Desert confirmed that Smith Evans worked for the school part time from 1987 to 2011.

Her husband, Ron Evans, was a professor at COD as well and taught art from 1971 to 2010. We’re working to speak to college officials to get more details about Susan’s time with the school.

The incident was reported in Cahuilla Hills, an unincorporated area of Palm Desert. Officers received a call just after 7 p.m. that a woman was injured on Sondgroth Court.

According to the CHP, a silver Toyota parked at the residence rolled backwards down the driveway striking Smith Evans. She died at the scene.

The incident is under investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact the CHP Indio office at 760-772-5300.