Hurtado first began depicting the female body from its own vantage point in the 1970s, most notably in her "I am" paintings when she was involved with the Feminist Art movement, and close friends with many feminist artists, such as Judy Chicago.

The curving, swirling lines of hills, mountains, and sky, the brilliantly contrasting blues and yellows, the large, flame-like cypress trees, and the thickly layered brushstrokes of Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night are engrained in the minds of many as an expression of the artist's turbulent state-of-mind.