Every evening, when 8 p.m. rolls around, Tobias Sauer puts his eldest boy—Cash, who is 6—to bed and follows a routine as he does so. He lies down with him, makes shadow puppets for him, and reads him a book. That routine is followed by another one that Sauer put into practice a few years ago—spending two to three hours each night making accoutrements for Western models to wear during artist photo shoots.

 

 

Sauer, who lives in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, with his wife Andrea Hunter and his children, has been painting full-time for about seven years now. Before that, he worked in a laboratory, studying insects, and painting in his spare time with a focus on the West and its inhabitants. Five years ago, he added to his repertoire when he started making Native American and cowboy regalia that he uses during the photo shoots he attends.

The collection of props Sauer has made for those shoots is extensive and includes everything from shields and leggings to shirts and tapaderos, which are leather covers for the front of stirrups. He also makes wooly chaps and saddle bags from Mongolian sheep skin and dresses from wool cloth that he orders from Europe and then dyes. 

 

 

Then there is the jewelry; Sauer also makes many types of necklaces. One is a bear claw necklace; another is a finger necklace. “Native Americans would cut the fingers off their enemies and put them on necklaces,” Sauer says. “I made a mold, cast some fingers, and put them on necklaces. I had to paint the fingers to look real.”

Sauers’ first creation was a headdress that included beadwork, something he had never done. “Beadwork is really expensive,” he says. “I couldn’t afford it, so I learned how to do it on YouTube.” He turned to other sources—including books and archives—as he expanded his creations and worked to make his work as accurate as possible.  He also used magnifying glasses to study Charlie Russell paintings and see the details in them. 

 

 

In late July, Sauer participated in Painting the West, which included workshops and photo shoots at the Charles Dayton Ranch in Cokeville, Wyoming. He is dedicated to both of his crafts and pursues each with energy and enthusiasm.  

“When I became a fulltime artist, art became my job,” he says. “I needed a hobby. That hobby has turned out to be another passion.”