Downtown lowdown: Things are quickly heating up on the downtown Damariscotta art scene. In my last column, I wrote about amazing artist (and very nice person) Phoebe Dean, who recently began working at Buzz Maine. Now, I am just as excited to tell readers about self-taught Thomaston wood artist Rob Jones and his wife, Barbie Jones, who opened Wooden Alchemy last Wednesday, April 4 in the Main Street space formerly occupied by River Gallery.

Getting to know Phoebe Dean: Delightful barely begins to describe my recent experience of spending time talking with 21-year-old self-taught artist Phoebe Dean. In addition to being very accomplished in the art of drawing, Dean is also a barista at downtown Damariscotta coffee bar and co-working space Buzz Maine. She is the one responsible for making the cool-looking new signage tacked onto the front counter at Buzz.

Luoma landscapes: I braved the latest round of snow to head over to the Hall Gallery at LincolnHealth’s Miles Campus in Damariscotta to see Alna artist Jon Luoma’s new exhibit “Landscape Watercolors of Maine, Newfoundland, the Galapagos, and Beyond.”

River Arts rocks it: There is a fabulous new exhibit on the walls (and pedestals) of the River Arts gallery in Damariscotta. “Figures & Sculpture” features the work of more than 60 artists from all over Maine, including such names as Belfast’s David Estey and Rockland painter Ronald Frontin.

Viva, Rhodes and Garren: “Viva Cuba” is the name of the fantastic photography exhibit currently on the walls of The Carey Gallery at Skidompha Library in Damariscotta. Featuring photographs from recent trips to Cuba by Katherine Garren, of Damariscotta, and Gisela H. Rhodes, of Newcastle, this show is must-see stuff. Rhodes (and her dog), incidentally, volunteer once a week at Skidompha.