RUMFORD — Randy Rickards remembers well his year-long deployment to Iraq in 2005-06.

As an artist, anything can be a subject, and his service in the Middle East was no different. Eleven of the acrylic paintings he composed from his military stint will be on display beginning Friday, April 6, at the Pennacook Art Center in the River Valley Technology Center. He is the featured artist for the months of April and May.

Rickards, a 1977 graduate of Telstar High School and former resident of Andover, has been painting since he was a student there. He credits high school art teachers Betty Hebert and Tim Cavanaugh with providing lots of inspiration.

Among the paintings on display are several showing the towers U.S. military personnel manned. Another is a colorful depiction of one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces outside of Baghdad.

One shows three little girls through barbed wire. “They came everyday for candy, toothbrushes, other items,” Rickards said. “A lot of the towers had kids coming up to them.” His favorite painting is already on display at the tech center. It shows two “saws” or automatic machine guns, on Huck’s Tower. That tower, said Rickards, was named after Staff Sgt. Huck. It is painted in shades of orange, yellow and black.

“The Iraqi artwork is part of the world people don’t see,” he said. Wherever Rickards has been since high school, he has painted what he sees. He joined the military right after high school graduation, and served 17 years in the National Guard, U.S. Army, and U.S. Navy.

As a resident of Union now, he often creates watercolors of the coast. One of those paintings, which depicts the Rockland waterfront filled with boats, is also on display at Pennacook Art Center. He has shown in several places, including Union, Bethel and in various banks.

“Painting is relaxing. When you paint, it puts you in another dimension,” he said.

Betsy Bell, director of the Pennacook gallery, said the local organization is privileged to host Rickards’ paintings. The official opening begins at 5 p.m., April 6. Rickards will talk about his experiences in Iraq and his paintings at 6 p.m.

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