Horses have always figured prominently in Ray Smith's painting, and no wonder. He was born on a Texas ranch and began riding at a young, eventually playing polo and riding dressage. He still has several horses today.

So when the Lux Art Institute asked him to create one of his large-scale works while in residence there, the first thing that came to mind was obvious.

"In 1999 and 2000, I did a series of horsemen, such as jockeys or rides on a fox hunt," he said. "I never felt I completed the idea because I still have a lot of ideas in reserve."

In the little more than two weeks that Smith has been at Lux, he has been working on a 6-by-13-foot oil painting on canvas. And while he knew the painting would include horses, the rest of the ideas for the work are coming to life as he goes along.

"I kind of wing it," he said of his painting style. "Much of what I want to do is reserved in the subconscious. I'd like to develop something that uses the landscape that is here and certain elements that I have been thinking about, as well as characters that have been developing in my mind."

He admits to enjoying when something mystical happens in that process. At a similar kind of experience recently in Japan, he decided to weave the idea of a sea monster throughout the works. And the landscape more than cooperated ---- from his window he could see fishermen pulling octopuses from the ocean.

"I think that if you get yourself psyched up, that kicks up an idea," he said. "For instance, I was thinking that I wanted hummingbirds in this work and when I opened my door this morning, there were hummingbirds flying everywhere. It was only an accident that I was thinking about hummingbirds, and they happened to really be part of the landscape. It's sort of a good fortune when things like that happen."

Smith is known for his highly figurative works, which often feature animals (especially dogs) as anthropomorphic beings that hint at aspects of human nature. He enjoys juxtaposing and distorting reality to give it a dreamlike quality. He also blends in a sense of his Mexican-American heritage, especially when it comes to color choices.

He has two large studios in New York City, where he often paints in the company of assistants and interns. So he has no trouble working in the fishbowl-like atmosphere of Lux.

"I like the idea of public work when it's mixed with a lot of personal subject matter," he said. "The secret is an enormous amount of focus. There's not a curtain over the scaffolding here. Visitors get to see me working through an idea. It's exciting that way."

Ray Smith at Lux Art Institute

When: 1-5 p.m. Sept. 24-26; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 27

Where: Lux Art Institute, 1550 S. El Camino Real, Encinitas

Tickets: $10 for two visits

Info: (760) 436-6611

Web: www.luxartinstitute.org