About this work: Warhol developed his blotted line technique in the late 1940s while studying at Carnegie Tech (Carnegie Mellon). The technique is said to have appealed to Warhol for a number of reasons: On the one hand, he did not like the way he drew, and this technique “sabotaged” any line drawn on paper. On the other hand, the technique allowed Warhol to create repeating images quickly, and to amend and embellish those images to his liking. Warhol stated that he wanted to “be a machine”, and this mechanical drawing style appealed to that notion. This technique encouraging and abetting the use of repetition his works may have in fact been “pre-emptive” of his subsequent use of silkscreen.” (Adman, Warhol before Pop at page 22.) Patterns are inherently self-repeating – combine Pop-aesthetic with Warhol’s appreciation for repetition, and a study drawing of a pattern suddenly seems rather logical.

It seems that many such color studies would later appear in Warhol’s Christmas illustrations (and associated cards) for Tiffany & Co. It is possible that this study drawing served a similar purpose

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Reference: Meyer, Richard, Blake Gopnik, Brett Littman, Matt Wrbican, Nina Schleif , Thomas Sokolowski, and Ellen Lupton. Adman: Warhol before pop. Edited by Nicholas Chambers. Sydney, New South Wales, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Art Gallery NSW ; The Andy Warhol Museum, 2017.