Potter’s Point Created on Ellwood Mesa

The renowned artist Chris Potter inspired countless people from around the world while painting colorful landscapes of the Santa Barbara coast. Now his name and vision will continue to do the same into perpetuity, as his favorite place to paint will forever be known as Potter’s Point. 

In an unanimous vote on Tuesday, May 7, the Goleta City Council voted to affix that name to a prominent bluff on the Ellwood Mesa Open Space after the artist, who died suddenly on February 3. Located straight out from Santa Barbara Shores Drive, the place — framed by a eucalyptus grove, sporting downcoast views of Sands Beach and Coal Oil Point — is where Potter played as a child growing up in the Ellwood neighborhood, and it remained a preferred spot through his UCSB days and became the vantage point for many of his most beloved paintings. 

“We haven’t done this before,” said Councilmember Stuart Kasdin of how this naming opportunity arose as an outside request rather than one generated within City Hall. He believes that the move will “benefit the place,” explaining, “He’s imbuing this location with special meaning.”

Councilmember James Kyriaco agreed, offering, “So many people associate Ellwood with Potter.” 

Potter’s death followed a very public fight against a rare form of cancer, although he died from natural causes not directly related to the disease. His passing triggered a massive public reaction, with about 700 people attending his February 24 memorial at Dos Pueblos High, his alma mater. 

Out of that emotional outpouring, County Supervisor Laura Capps proposed the naming of Potter’s Point, which falls under the jurisdiction of the City of Goleta. The idea was endorsed by more than 1,900 signatures on an online form and then supported by the city’s naming committee last month. 

During Tuesday’s hearing, Capps explained how she felt like Chris was her friend, even though she’d only talked to him briefly when seeing him painting in public or at nonprofit events, to which he donated dozens of works and hours of his time.  

“I felt, like hundreds of people, if not thousands, that Chris was my friend,” said the supervisor. “I felt it was important to honor the way he embodies Goleta.” 

There were dozens of Potter’s family members and friends in the audience on Tuesday, including a handful who spoke in favor of the naming, such as this reporter and the owners of Rincon Brewing and Santa Barbara Adventure Company. Said Chris Jones, his best friend from childhood, “He and his artwork serve as a beacon for Goleta.”

On behalf of Potter’s widow, Julie Beaumont Potter, their friend Penny Owens read one of the social media posts that Potter posted during his fight with cancer a couple of years ago.

“I’d close my eyes on the radiation table and attempt to let joy in,” wrote Potter. “It came in the form of me standing and painting on the bluffs at Ellwood at ‘my spot.’ Then I was a redtail hawk taking off from that spot and gliding along the cliffs. Then flying out over the ocean in a big loop, drifting up to hover, and then looking down at myself painting. Joy came to me and I accepted that no matter what happens I was here and I made my mark. I’m proud of myself and the life I’ve led. I might have cried a little while making this, but they were tears of joy.”

The council and the speakers also directed staff to investigate the potential of installing a bench and perhaps even a permanent easel at Potter’s Point. Those decisions will come at a later date.