MASSENA, N.Y. – A painting dubbed “Waiting for the Prize” has once again been declared a winner.

The painting, by Canadian artist Charlotte King, Mohawk, was awarded first place in the oil painting category at the 24th Annual Massena Artists Association juried art contest.

King’s winning entry features half a dozen aboriginal dancers waiting in a semi-circle for results following a pow wow dance competition in her hometown of Akwesasne, Ontario.

King had also taken the black and white photo, which inspired her painting, in the fall of 2007.

“You’re mostly seeing the back of the dancers,” King said of her painting. “And in the background there are blue shadows of people, who are the audience.”

“Waiting for the Prize” had previously won two awards at the American Indian Higher Education Consortium’s art show held February 2008 in Sante Fe, N.M.

The piece won first place and best of show in the contemporary oil painting category.

This marked the first year King, 56, had entered the competition in Massena, N.Y.

She entered a pair of paintings to see how she would fare in the American event. In the two previous years she had entered but not won a prize in a contest organized by the Ontario-based Cornwall Regional Art Gallery.

“It’s a smaller show, but it’s well respected,” King said. “It’s been running for more than 20 years.”

The Massena competition attracted about 100 entries from about 60 artists. King was the only aboriginal winner.

The contest was open to artists who live within a 100-mile radius of Massena.

In the oil painting division, there were nine entries. But King said she had no inkling of how she would fare.

“I didn’t know the competition at the time,” said King, who works as the administrative coordinator for the Akwesasne Mohawk Ambulance.

For her winning entry, King was awarded $50 and a ribbon.

“What I really got out of it was the publicity,” King said, adding that a handful of newspapers reported on her victory.

Besides the oil painting category, there were also divisions for works in acrylic paintings, pastel drawings, photography and mixed media.

Dorothy Badger, the president of the Massena Artists Association, was rather impressed with King’s winning entry.

“It was a very realistic piece and very well done. I was impressed with the quality of the work. And it had beautiful colors.”

Badger said if she was judging King would have also received an award for her other entered painting.

“It was also a very nice piece. I think it should have won an award, too. But they didn’t ask me. We brought judges in and maybe they wanted to spread out the awards. But I think she should have won awards for both.”

Badger said once artists enter the Massena competition they tend to return to the contest year after year; and she’s hoping that will be the case with King.

“We’d love to have her keep entering. She does wonderful work.”

David Staddon, the director of public information for the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, was also impressed with King’s winning piece of work.

“She is a very talented artist,” said Staddon, who is also a member of the Massena Artists Association. “I really liked how she treated the light. It was very detailed.”

King graduated from Cornwall’s St. Lawrence College with a fine arts degree in 1974. But she didn’t really have time to pursue her artistic flair as she was raising five children, who are now ages 14-28.

She returned to school in 2005, and graduated in December from SUNY Potsdam with a bachelor of studio arts degree and a minor in museum studies.

Now that her children are for the most part grown up, King can devote more time to her artistic career.

Later this year, King will achieve a first; she will have a one woman show of her work at the Cornwall Regional Art Gallery. The show is expected to open in late November.

She also has another goal in mind, which she hopes to one day fulfill.

“I’d like to get my work overseas, to get some international exposure.”