Brian John Spencer: Painting a positive picture of Orange culture for Co Down lodge

Brian’s two paintings will be unveiled on Wednesday night by Saintfield District LOL No. 5 to mark the completion of the District Orange Arch for Saintfield and Ballygowan.

The artist said: “If you look back 100 years ago at artists like William Conor and Sir John Lavery, they painted the scenes of the day – the shipyards, inner city life, the industrial might – both of them painted images of parades, Lambeg drums and what have you.

“That doesn’t really exist today, apart from you’ve got maybe the likes of Joe McWilliams, he does it a little more satirical. About three or four years before lockdown I was trying to fill that space.

“My interest was painting parades and also rugby, with lockdown it just ended. I’m getting back in shape now. I got photos of parades in Saintfield and Ballygowan with the new arch and I did two paintings to commemorate the arch and also to paint, figuratively and literally, their culture and customs in a positive light.

"On the night I’m going to bring a print of the very famous John Lavery painting in Portadown. I think it’s interesting for people to see the genesis.”

The artworks will be unveiled by the Orange Order’s Grand Secretary Rev Mervyn Gibson at the 7.30pm event which is open to all brethren, family and friends.

Saintfield’s Deputy District Master Mark McMullen, explained the uniqueness of his district: “We’re Saintfield District but we cover Ballygowan as well. What that means is when we host the Twelfth we’ll alternate between the two villages.

“Last year we put up the arch in Saintfield and then moved it to Ballygowan. That’s quite unique, I don’t think that’s ever been done before, having the same arch in two different villages in the same year.

“The last arch was about 20 years old, we commissioned the new arch just before Covid but then everything got hit on the head. We got Brian to do the paintings to mark the new arch. One will hang in Saintfield, the other in Ballygowan.”

The lodge will also be selling prints of the paintings via their Facebook page.