Whether gazing at Menemsha fishing shacks or standing outside of her Lambert’s Cove gallery, Ashley Medowski’s artistic inspiration comes from the peace she finds up-Island.

In her current show, Menemsha Fishing Shacks + Island Birds, Ms. Medowski brings this feeling to life in driftwood sculptures of birds and paintings of the shacks, birds, boats and water.

“There’s an authenticity to the fishing shacks,” Ms. Medowski said. “I’m always drawn to Menemsha for peace and quiet and color. It was important to show their charm.”

The exhibit opened on August 5 at Ms. Medowski’s Gallery and will continue through Sept. 10. The gallery, Ms. Medowski said, is as much a part of her collection as her paintings and sculptures. The structure was once her great-grandfather’s barn, which she renovated over the past two decades.

“In a world where people are missing the old days and the old Vineyard, I have kept it here and restored this place to keep the old bones of the building,” she said.

Gallery is also Ms. Medowski's studio. — Maria Thibodeau

The paintings, with pops of color often found in birds, boats or front doors show tranquil, everyday scenes from her days spent painting in Menemsha and West Tisbury.

Alongside many of the paintings stand lively driftwood sculptures of birds adorned with pearl, oyster and paint. Many people assume she carves them, Ms. Medowski said.

Instead, she finds inspiration when a piece of driftwood looks like a bird and brings her joy. Ms. Medowski said that assembling the objects without changing each one helps her stay focused on the magic they hold after being shaped by the ocean. She patiently waits for the moment when the character of her sculpture becomes clear.

“Ultimately, I’m entertaining myself when I’m creating,” she said. “Often there’s a little giggle in the back of my mind — I just brought a piece of wood to life.”

The Vineyard’s birds became a focal point of her collection this year.

“In the winter, they inspire me and my work. I call them my wren friends,” she said of her painting Wren and Winterberries.

Pointing to the painting beside it, she explained how a pheasant wandered past the gallery last year.

“And those blue birds actually do visit in the winter,” she said of another painting. “Each piece is uniquely inspired by my surroundings.”

Much of the artwork in the show has been sold already. At the end of every show, when the artwork is sent out to the buyers, the bones of the gallery become more visible. The blank creative slate gives Ms. Medowski’s the space to consider how her next collection might take shape. She said her mind has recently been traveling to the clay cliffs of Aquinnah’s coastline. The orange clay, the green vegetation, the cornflower blue sky and the bright white of passing seagulls have her excited about the possibility of a new series.

“The history of those cliffs — the color is eroding, the dunes are eroding,” Ms. Medowski said. “To capture it now is the right time, and I’m excited about that.”

Menemsha Fishing Shacks + Island Birds is on display until Sept. 10 at the Ashley Medowski Gallery at 367 Lambert’s Cove Road in West Tisbury, open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.