The person I look up to as the best portrait style designer is Charles Dearing. Charles is a master portrait pattern designer. His technique is nearly flawless. He designs the patters the old fashion way with pen and pencil. He meticulously traces the original image always finding just the right areas to pull out the detail.
Many of his patterns are not for the faint of heart. They can be challenging but the satisfaction is worth the time spent. Charles has a book titled "Wildlife Portraits in Wood". You can find the book on Amazon. The stock on Amazon seems to come and go. I think it was showing only nine left when I checked. For a couple more dollars you can find it at the publisher's site Fox Chapel Publishing.
You may also wish to check out Charles Facebook page. If you are new to the portrait style of scroll saw patterns let me warn you before you visit his facebook page. Your mind will be blown. Like I said he is a master at his craft and he is very prolific. If you spend an hour looking at his work and miss dinner I can't help you.
Here is a sample of a Charles Dearing design. Take a look at the size of this portrait compared to the end of the scroll saw on the right. It's huge!
Don't quote me on this but I think Charles still does commission work through his Facebook page. You can contact him if you are interested. The easiest way to see his work on his Facebook page is to click the photos link at the top.
