The obituary notice of Artist R J LLOYD

Late to the "party" as I am..having only just learnt of Reg's passing I'd just like to add that he was very much a vibrant and treasured person, as a young antiques dealer in the North Devon area I had many a deal with Reg...not very often coming out financially better off...but always having learnt some knowledge of art and antiques....a gent, scholar, artist...and most of all a convivial fella with a twinkle and great sense of humour...he will be greatly missed!!

Reg was a great man. He was friends to myself and my wife, Carolyn, for 30+ years, and never wavered in his friendship towards us both. His art fills our little flat, every wall has a number of engravings, watercolours thereon. His painted boxes fill gaps on all surfaces in the sitting room, plates are used where possible, and displayed if not! I had the privelege last October, of curating his exhibition at The Oxmarket Gallery in Chichester, and of introducing him to the people of the Cathedral City, and it was an enjoyment and an experience that I shall never forget. My wife and I went to visit him and Louise at their home at least twice a year, and spoke most weeks over the telephone. He was always a man full of art, of wonderful finds, glorious slipware pots abounding, and of determination. His gradual loss of sight did not stop him laying down great works. These great paintings will always evoke fond memories, particularly of the convivial lunches passed around the table, following which we knew we were going to return home laden with a small drawing, a print or something bigger! He will be missed enormously.

Ted Hughes, in his marvellous book 'Poetry in the Making', says of the fox he 'catches' in his poem The Thought Fox, 'It is both a fox and a spirit. It will live for ever'. Reg, like his friend Ted Hughes, had a profound love of the animal kingdom, and like Ted he had the gift and application to 'catch the life' of the birds and animals he was so entranced by, in Reg's case through his wonderful paintings and woodcuts. Reg was a true artist, able to create images of animals and landscapes with the intensity of Samuel Palmer's work. When his sight was failing,I asked him why he continued every day to paint. "Because it's what I do', he said.

The walls of our home and the homes of our two children are rich in Reg Lloyd's paintings and plates. Our book shelves are enhanced by his jugs and pots. Every piece generates a feeling of man and woman's profound relationship with the earth and the natural world. Reg was a very fine artist and a very good friend. To visit him in his studio was always an inspiration. He will be very much missed; but his spirit and his vision live on in his work.