Popular painter Sarah-Jane Szikora has announced that she is using her artistic abilities to help dementia patients.

The northern artist announced on her personal blog that she is currently involved in the initial stages of designing and refurbishing three dementia wards in Bradford teaching hospitals.

Sarah-Jane said she hopes that her personal experience of dementia through her mother's illness will help other people who are affected by the condition.

She wrote in her blog: "Through art, I can also use the experience and hopefully turn it into something positive for others. We must always strive to see the brighter side of life amidst the darkness of living. Laughter, after all, is the best medicine."

The artist is spending less time on producing Sarah-Jane Szikora prints so that she can fully concentrate her efforts on the design and refurbishment project.

Sarah-Jane has called for further investment from potential donors as the scheme is mainly funded by charity and only receives a small amount from the NHS.

She added on her blog: "So what we lack in funds, we must try and make up for in creativity!"

Sarah-Jane recently told the arts and culture journal Fally rag that she hopes that her light-hearted and humorous prints of giant gingerbread man and confectionary characters provide people with happiness.

She told the publication: "The world doesn't owe you happiness; you must earn it. Get on that journey of self-discovery and change something. Art helped me to be happy, so hopefully by offering my results, I can pass a little bit of that on."

Sarah-Jane said that she wanted to inspire human warmth and connection through her irreverent artwork as she does not want to add to the despair that some people already experience.

"The world has seen enough misery without Tracy Emin's dirty knickers thrown in," she told Fally rag.

Life drawing classes at the Cleveland College of Art inspired Sarah-Jane's passion for illustrating the human body, which she has now evolved to create extreme comedy figures.

People interested in viewing Sarah-Jane Szikora prints will be pleased to know that the artist said that she will soon be revealing the dates of some gallery events taking place in July.

The artist also said on her blog that she had the pleasure of going to an exhibition in Newcastle which displayed Fabian Perez prints.

Sarah-Jane Szikora prints have been displayed in Harrods, Selfridges and several important exhibitions across the United Kingdom.