Looking through Carmen Lomas Garza's artwork, I became really fascinated by the one pictured above, Sandia. It immediately gave me the feeling of familial connection that is oftentimes forced in other paintings.
The moon and the singular lightbulb are the only sources of light we are aware of, but the whole image is illuminated despite it being nighttime. To me, this signifies that the family doesn't need more than moonlight and the light of the lightbulb to bring brightness to their lives. The next interesting detail I noticed were the shoes. The grandmother's bare feet insinuate a sense of comfortability around her company. This is gentle to me. The little girls' matching sandals and the little boys' matching sneakers tie them together in a darling way. We see children copy each other when they like another person's behavior and in this family, they like each others' outfits and sense of style so much that most of the children have adopted a similar way of dressing themselves. This unity really ties the image back to family.
I love the watermelon. It is plentiful and shared with all members of the family. The red of the watermelon is symbolic of the red we use to convey love. The watermelon seeds that litter the ground are evocative of the generations to come. They will grow into their own fruit after a time of togetherness and expand the family. The three generations harmoniously spending time together eating the watermelon makes viewers think that this tradition is one that the children will carry when they are the oldest members of their families. The floral accents on the pillars holding up the ceiling and the flower beds that guard the entrance to the home make me think of growth and ongoing support. To me, flowers mean growth and rebirth, but seeing them as pillars that hold up the family shows that the growth and birth of the family is ongoing and supported by the continuation of this family sharing moments like these that strengthen their bonds to each other.
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