I stare at the flashing cursor, tongue-tied and stupefied-- outwitted by the subject. How to write about a project which is at once worthy and fundamental, and arrestingly, profoundly beautiful? The Reconstructionists features a different trailblazing woman every Monday who has "reconstructed ... our understanding of ourselves, the world, and our place in it." It's a hefty feat, but if anyone could pull it off it's surely the talented team of illustrator Lisa Congdon and writer Maria Popova.

The project begins with a cartoonist, the original soul sister, a timeless diarist, an inventor/actress, an author/art collector, and an abstract-expressionist painter -- iconic and provocative women who played, performed, and permeated meaning, better known as Lynda Barry, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Anais Nin, Hedy Lamarr, Gertrude Stein, and Agnes Martin, respectively.

The illustrated portraits, hand-lettered quotes, and accompanying micro-essays are as vibrant and compelling as the women they honor. Hats off ladies.

You can't discuss Diela Maharanie's art without praising her prismatic, high-gloss, candy-like use of color. But, it's the colored noses of her women - a mere dab on the face - that somehow command my attention even amidst a wild assortment of patterns and animals. It's as if their skin has saturated the vibrant world they inhabit.

You now have the chance to color her work yourself - Diela is one of the 60 artists featured in our new coloring book!

Come with me and take a peek at the wonderful sketchbook of María Inés Gul, aka Marjainez. It's a mix of scribbles, paint blots and mid-sentence thoughts.

I haven't listened to Ladykillers by LUSH in over a decade, but as soon as I laid eyes on the women of Zoe Chantal the song immediately came to mind.

Graphite, gauche, watercolor, acrylic, pen, stencils, etchings; it seems her ladies are drawn with every possible medium and each with more drama and intensity than the next.

Zoe, we're glad you've joined DA. Your ladies are always welcome here.

Beautiful women are everywhere. Right now, sitting at this tiny cafe, I count 17 - most of which are showing more skin than not. So then I wonder why the beautiful women drawn by Caitlin Shearer are so fresh.

Maybe it's a little thing called class. You know, that illusive trait that made Grace Kelly a star. In Caitlin's drawings, there might be a formula to it - perhaps lush hair, dramatic eyebrows, and translucent skin maketh the classy lady.

Or maybe it's about feeling like we're peeking in on these effortless beauties in a private moment. With the internet, we're never short on pouty people showing-off for the camera... so it's nice to sleuth in on a moment of quiet. A moment that it feels like no-one else is noticing.

Oh, and there are two other things I like about Caitlin Shearer. One - she's as classy in real life as I hoped she would be (she looks a leading lady in a 50's film). Two - we can see her style evolve from all the way back in 2006, because flickr pro is awesome like that.

If I had to guess, I would say that Christina Vantzou is a thoughtful person, with a gentleness that exudes from her. I don't know her personally but that is the exact feeling I get when I look at her work. Simple. Delicate. Luscious.