Editing Winsor McCay (section)

===Early life===
{{quote box
|quote  = I just couldn't stop drawing anything and everything.
|source = —Winsor McCay{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=23}} }}

McCay came to be known by his middle name, Winsor. His drawing skills emerged early. According to a story told within the family, McCay made his first drawing in the aftermath of one of the many fires that hit Spring Lake: he picked up a nail and etched the scene of the fire in the frost of a windowpane. Drawing became obsessive for him;{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=23}} he drew anything he saw, and the level of detail and accuracy in his drawing was noted at a young age. He was able to draw accurately from memory even things he had never before drawn—what McCay called "memory sketching". His father thought little of his son's artistic talents, though,{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=24}} and had him sent to [[Cleary University|Cleary Business College]] in [[Ypsilanti, Michigan]].{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=28}} McCay rarely attended classes. He bragged about how he would catch the train to Detroit to show off his drawing skills at the Wonderland and Eden Musee [[dime museum]]. He drew portraits there for 25{{Abbrlink|¢|cent (United States coin)}} apiece, of which he kept half.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|pp=28–29}}

McCay thrived on the attention he received, and his talents soon drew wider attention. John Goodison, a geography and drawing professor at [[Eastern Michigan University|Michigan State Normal School]], offered to teach art to McCay privately, and McCay eagerly accepted. The lessons were practical and focused on using observation to learn to draw in geometrical [[perspective (graphical)|perspective]].{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=30}} Goodison, a former [[stained glass|glass stainer]], influenced McCay's use of color. McCay learned how to draw quickly using drills on a blackboard, and gained an appreciation for master artists of the past.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=31}}