Outsider artist Martin Thompson was yesterday awarded the 2010 Waiheke Art Award.
Gallery owner Brett McDowell said yesterday he had entered Thomson's work without his knowledge.
"It's an amazing story. It wasn't that long ago he was living in a halfway house and a bus station on Cuba St," he said.
"Yes, indeed, I was very surprised. It's very exciting," Thompson (54) said when informed of his win, which included a $5000 cheque.
Thompson moved to Dunedin two years ago, after spending 30 years as a street character in Wellington.
He began producing ink drawings on 1mm graph paper in 1980 and came to international attention in 2005, when his work featured in a New York Museum exhibition, "Obsessive Drawing".
"I don't remember why I started doing them. It was just something to keep me occupied, really," he said.
The works now command up to $4000 in the United States.
Judge Sara Hughes said the precision of the winning work was "remarkable".
"It is also outstanding for the way it references, and brings to light, the microcosms and mathematical intricacies of the world we inhabit," she said.
More than 90 entries were received from around New Zealand for the annual award.
Thompson said he had already decided what to do with his prize money.
"I'm going to spend it on art supplies and laser prints [of my work]."
