Inktober 2026: 24.10 - 24. Bake

Sometimes, when I decide to learn something new, I have to ask myself: is it really worth spending time on this today? The subject might come in handy someday, but probably not anytime soon—lol.

I asked myself a similar question when I suddenly felt the urge to learn about masonry—specifically, how to build a tandoor or a Pompeian (dome-style) oven from scratch.

But that knowledge definitely won’t be useful anytime soon; our house isn’t even finished yet, so there’s no way I could start building an oven or a brick barbecue area. Or so I thought—until today, when I saw the prompt for the Inktober 2026 drawing challenge: "Dapper!"

I knew exactly what I wanted to put on paper: an imaginary chef sliding a pizza into a Pompeian oven.

In a way, I accomplished three things at once: I created a drawing, "built" a Pompeian oven (that’s how I viewed the painstaking work of designing and fitting every single brick for the structure), and "baked" a pizza—something I’ve never actually done in real life, though I’d ​​certainly love to try if I ever have a real Pompeian oven!

I could have just drawn a simple poppy-seed bun or a pastry with fruit filling, but I wanted to face the fears that cropped up when I realized just how much labor goes into shaping and cutting every single brick for a structure as complex as a Pompeian oven.

Then again, I suppose baking a pizza for the very first time is a bit daunting, too—lol.

Anyway, as chefs often say, "the first pancake is always a bit of a mess"—but however this pizza turned out, it turned out! Bon appétit! I was pleasantly surprised by the pen you see in the photograph.

Yesterday, while I was working on a drawing of a turkey, the ink in the pen I’d been using for a long time ran out, so I had to look for a replacement.

I found this pen in a briefcase and decided to give it a try, choosing one of the prompts from a challenge—the word "Dumb." Well, it didn't help me draw for very long; it seemed like the ink had run out in this one, too.

But today, just before tossing the pen into the trash, I decided to scribble a line on a scrap of paper—and lo and behold! A black mark appeared!

As it turned out, I was able to use this pen today to draw a pizza and finish the piece I started yesterday—which I’ll share later on.

Wishing everyone a blessed day!

Zoom in on a photo for a closer view.

More to come!

Enjoy viewing the photos and reading the article!

Have a blessed day!

Category:	Art, Photography, digital art.
Tools:	Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX300
Location:	Ukraine
Author:	Author @barski. In my publications you will see only my author's works.