The Endless ColorBy Nicole Gorman

This travelogue includes a series of 20 illustrations based on various adventures the illustrator, Nicole, has been on over the past few years. She captured snapshots from the most colorful/memorable places and translated them to into these illustrations.

Each page contains abstract line work that might not be recognizable at first glance but with the help of Nicole’s stories, the portraits will become all the more real and visible to the viewer.

Contents

ROADTRIP.................................................1-6ColoradoArizona

SAN DIEGO..............................................7-12Pacific BeachPotato Chip Rock

RHODE ISLAND.....................................13-18Watch Hill

ITALY.....................................................19-34FlorenceChiantiSienaVeniceCinque Terre

SWITZERLAND.....................................35-36Iseltwald

HOLLAND.............................................37-40Amsterdam

GLENWOOD SPRINGS | CORight at home, in the states, have been some of my best adventures. In May of 2015, me and my boyfriend road tripped from Madison, Wisconsin to our new home in sunny San Diego, California. Throughout this very long drive, we made several pit stops and saw some of the most beautiful scenery out the window. Driving through Colorado, the mountains were constantly surrounding us. I remember feeling like we weren’t even on the highway.

The bright blue sky was crisp as ever the morning we left from Denver and headed to Glenwood Springs. The sun shined down on the mountains in front of us and made them so incredibly green. Maybe it was just being tired from the drive but they looked like pure fluff and I wanted to jump into them.

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TUSAYAN | AZ Our second stop was the Grand Canyon in Arizona and neither of us had ever been there before. This part of the drive was not as fun. Being in the desert, the sun was incredibly strong. Even with the air conditioning blasted, we felt the 106-degree heat beating down on the roof of our tiny black car. The drive was mainly flat, but the closer we got the more beautiful it became.

Instead of green mountains, there were vibrant red and orange cliff formations everywhere. I had never seen this sort of scenery before. We would take breaks and stop on the side of the road to walk around, my feet surrounded by bright orange gravel and sand.

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GRAND CANYON | AZ The morning after arriving in Tusayan, we woke up early and headed straight to the Grand Canyon and spent all day hiking the trails. The heat was insane but a drier heat than I am used to.

It was such a surreal experience, I have never felt so small and insignificant, but in an awesome way. When you look out at the canyon, it hits you how long our Earth has been here for and how little we have been.

After hiking for eight hours, we sat on the edge of the South Rim and watched the sunset. The sky filled with shades of purple, pink, and blue and cast a glow on the canyon that made the colors take a completely different shade. It was an adventure I will never forget.

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SAN DIEGO | CA

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Five days and four stops later we arrived in Southern California – the best feeling ever after such a long drive. We could immediately smell the ocean and see plants everywhere. The cacti were huge and the flowers were so vibrant.

This illustration is depicting one of my favorite flower bushes on the road winding up toward our house. It’s a bush that goes alongside the entire road for about three blocks. Filled with bright pink and orange petals and green leaves. Not only was it beautiful, it smelled amazing too!

POTATO CHIP ROCK | CA

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One of the best adventures I had during my summer living in San Diego, was hiking to Potato Chip Rock. This is one of the top tourist locations and I can see why. It is located in Mt. Woodson, just a 45 minute drive from where I lived. My sister had been visiting and we decided to do the hike together.

There were two different trails you could take – a pavement walkway and the hard way. Us not being the most experienced hikers took the walkway instead. It was a massive winding path that took about two hours to get up to the top. The whole way up had incredible and interesting views. Many times, it felt like we were in The Hobbit. The mountain had thousands of huge boulders lying on it.

Once we finally got to the top, potato chip rock was waiting. It was literally a slab of rock hanging off the mountain. My sister and I decided to climb on it and sit on the edge. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the views of blue, green, and orange were beautiful.

PACIFIC BEACH | SAN DIEGO

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Surfing was another activity I did during my stay in San Diego and it is much harder than it looks, I spent most of the time flailing. Pacific Beach was my favorite beach in SD. The atmosphere and energy is always amazing and its impossible to not have a good time. There is a huge boardwalk going alongside the beach and tons of surf shops you can rent from.

One of the days my sister was visiting, I took her to the surf shop and we rented a couple boards. We surfed until the sun started to set, lighting up the sky in pink and yellow. It will forever be one of the most fun memories with my sister.

WATCH HILL | RI Heading back to the summer of 2014, is another place that I stole my heart. Watch Hill, Rhode Island is about an hour outside of Providence and is similar to the Hamptons. It is a little beach town with the cutest shops, houses, and amazing views.

Every night I walked along the beach at sunset. This was my favorite time to go to the beach because there was barely anyone around. It’s one of the most calming feelings, watching the sun go down while the blue waves cover your toes.

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WATCH HILL BEACH | RIThis illustration is from one night in particular that the sunset was the prettiest I had ever seen. I had never seen a sky so filled with pink. There wasn’t an ounce of blue anywhere. The reflection it cast over the water made the ocean look purple.

Being a designer, I have a very visual memory and remember this sunset so clearly. The entire family sat outside and took photos while it went down.

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YELLOW HOUSE | WATCH HILL

I first visited Watch Hill in the summer of 2013, when my boyfriend invited me to his family house. They have a place right up on the water, which we call the “Yellow House” because it is one of the first houses built in Watch Hill and is painted yellow.

The porch has the most amazing view of the ocean and iconic lighthouse. One of our favorite things to do is wake up and have coffee on the hammock. This family home is filled with beauty, from the location and decorations to the people inside it. I am so lucky to have been invited each summer since 2013, the yellow house is an unforgettable place.

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FLORENCE | ITALY

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Before the trip to Watch Hill in August of 2014, I had the opportunity to go abroad and study in Florence, Italy for two months. The colors in this illustration represent all of the homes in little Florence. One of my distinct and vivid memories are of the orange rooftops and stucco walls.

This illustration is a depiction of the view from my bedroom window. It was one of my favorite spots in our apartment. It looked out at several other houses, which were tight together if not connected. In the vast distance, you could see the mountains and we would watch the sunset from here almost every night.

CHIANTI | TUSCANY

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About 30 minutes outside of Florence, in the winding hills of Tuscany lays Chianti, a beautiful vineyard so big it feels endless. Throughout my study abroad, I traveled around many different parts of Italy. This illustration was based on the amazing wine tasting trip our class took together as apart of our program.

The red wine colors are immediately what come to mind when I remember back on this experience. Our class toured the vineyard and cellar, learning about winemaking. The sign in this illustration was hung above one of the cellar doors and means “silence the wine is sleeping” in Italian.

CHIANTI | TUSCANY

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Looking back on my time in Florence, everything was incredibly colorful but the reds and oranges always stood out to me the most. My favorite part of studying abroad was definitely the winetasting in Chianti. While eating amazing Italian food that was specially paired with each wine, surreal views overlooking Tuscany’s green vineyards surrounded us.

We learned how to properly taste/drink wine and the art that goes into it. Before sipping each glass, you first swirl the wine, smell, and check the color against the white tablecloth. It was amazing to me how each wine had different tones of red, pink, and white.

CHIANTI | TUSCANY

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This illustration is a self portrait of me sitting on a balcony in the vineyard’s castle. The view from this balcony was so picturesque, with walls framing the scenery and the incredible vibrancy of colors, it felt like I was looking at a painting. Tuscany truly is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to and although this specific moment was short, the memory of this view and the colors will always be vivid.

SIENA | ITALY

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Another trip included in my program was a day spent in Siena, Italy. This medieval quaint town was straight out of a history book. The streets are hilly and tight, crowded with walking residents and tourists. One of my favorite parts of Siena were the giant doors on each street. They each had so much detail and character; you could feel the history behind each one.

This door, in particular, was against the lightest green stucco building. I absolutely fell in love with the color of this residence. It was so unique. After admiring this color, an old Italian couple walked out of the tall wooden doors hand in hand. It was one of the cutest moments during my trip and really showed the character of Siena.

VENICE | ITALY

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Aside from the trips our class took together, me and my roommates also spent weekends visiting different destinations around Italy. Italy in general seems like it is out of a movie but Venice was truly unbelieveable. It is a city built on the water and the amount of colors/detail throughout this city are amazing.

When we arrived off the train, of course the first thing we had to do was hop in a gondola. Our guide was named Marco and he wore a bright red and white striped colored shirt with a round top hat. Along the canal there were several homes and buildings that were literally right in the water. They are so close to the water that the canal is the street and main transportation.

CINQUE TERRE | ITALY

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The last trip I took in Italy was to the true land of all color, the Cinque Terre. It is made of four towns and we visited two, Monterossa and Riogimorre. Riogimorre is located right in the mountain. The streets are so steep, it is hard not to get winded walking from place to place. Each town in Cinque Terre hugs the ocean and have several beaches and famous hiking trails.

During our time in Riogimorre, we jumped off rocks into the ocean and drank pina coladas. The locals were so friendly and we ate the freshest seafood out of buckets at the place illustrated to the right. This little restaurant was covered in purple flowers and green vines. Although this beach town contained every color in the rainbow, the beautiful purple flowers covering the walls were my favorite.

CINQUE TERRE | ITALY

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Monterosso, Cinque Terre is more known for the beach scene. Unlike Riogimorre, Monterosso had a huge pebble beach that was filled with people. We spent our entire time there in the water. It was the clearest turquoise I had ever swam in.

This illustration is a portrait of my roommate, swimming in the Mediterranean of Monterosso. We were both the happiest we could be, spending the day with good friends in paradise. The colors of Cinque Terre are something everyone should have on their bucket list.

ISELTWALD | SWITZERLAND

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After my program ended in Italy, I spent a couple weeks traveling around Europe with my roommate, Andrea. Our first stop was Switzerland, to hike the greatest mountains on Earth. We stayed in a tiny town called Iseltwald, which is right outside of Interlaken. We decided to go somewhere not many people typically travel to and considered this to be our “hidden gem” trip.

After flying and taking five different trains, we arrived at our hostel, the Lake Lodge. We were in complete shock when we arrived. This hostel was incredibly cheap but it was the cutest cabin with a patio overlooking the turquoise lake and mountains.

Walking ten feet out our deck and we were in the water. This is an illustration of me floating in the bright blue crystal clear lake, facing the massive mountains. There were small sailboats in the distance but aside from that and a swan, I was the only one in the water – it was absolute heaven. Aside from Italy, this was the most magnificent places I have ever been to.

HOTEL BOAT | AMSTERDAM

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Our adventure ended in Amsterdam, where we stayed in a hotel boat off of a pier. Although this had seemed like a good idea at first, we did not realize the cabin was meant for elves. There was one tiny window that opened up to let a small breeze in once and awhile but the views outside of it were extraordinary. When the sun set, the sky would turn to pink and orange and the city would reflect on the water.

AMSTERDAM | HOLLAND

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During our days in Amsterdam, we biked around the city and explored the streets. This illustration shows one of our pit stops alongside the river. Flowers and trees surrounded the river and the weather was always perfect.

At night, the streets took on an entirely different feel. Shades of red and pink immediately come to mind when I look back on my time in Amsterdam. Probably because of the Red Light District and the visuals that were burned into my memory there. It was wild to see how calm everything was during the daytime and then the change it took when the sun went down. Overall, Amsterdam had some really beautiful areas and it was the best place to have a good time in.

That’s it!

I hope you enjoyed this travelogue and a glimsp into some of my colorful adventures.

All illustrations and content by Nicole Gorman

Process Work

THE ENDLESS COLOR