80-year-old painter Salvador Albadalejo finds new life through social media

Salvador Albadalejo, an 80-year-old painter from Alicante, Spain, has experienced a resurgence in his career and personal well-being after his daughter Paula created a social media account to share his work. Born in Cartagena in 1945, Albadalejo has been painting for over 70 years, studying at the Real Sociedad de Amigos del País de Cartagena and the Escuela de Artes y Oficios de Madrid. His career included exhibitions across Europe and the United States, as well as national awards. He worked in portraiture, impressionism, and abstraction, now focusing on abstract compositions in watercolor. After struggling to sell his work for years, often doing caricatures on the Villajoyosa promenade, he was forced to leave his home of 20 years due to it becoming a vacation rental. He moved to the isolated mountain village of Orxeta, where his health declined, losing seven kilograms over Christmas. Paula, who works in yoga and social media, launched an Instagram account for his art, leading to numerous sales within a month. The renewed attention restored his motivation to paint and allowed him to purchase a hearing aid, improving his quality of life. Albadalejo now finds joy in knowing his art reaches new audiences.