White-Out in Sketches

Joshua DeVries

Has anyone encountered (and, hopefully, overcome) significant difficulties with reading "through" white-out in holograph sketches?

Typically, I will read whited-out material through the reverse side of the page and, although sometimes inventive lighting strategies are necessary, it is usually quite clear. In recent work, however, I've encountered problems with:

• white-out covering sketches in very light pencil (or partially erased pencil)


• what appears to be several layers of whited-out material


• material that has been whited out, then had one or more pieces of paper taped/pasted on top of it


• material that has been written, crossed out, then coated in white-out

At times, I can manage the last example, since some material has been written and crossed out with different writing utensils, but in general these difficulties render the above technique unsatisfactory, at best. Any and all suggestions are welcome, as I have a few more days to work with the originals and the sheer amount of illegible material makes solving this issue a high priority!