Our daughter Lisa was working for a music management company in London that looked after Mark Knopfler, of Dire Straits fame. Mark was now enjoying a solo career and was in the studio finalising the tracks for his 'Get Lucky' album to be released in September 2009. Lisa had a good working relationship with Mark and knew that his 60th birthday was coming up soon (12th August 2009) and asked Julie if she would paint a surprise portrait of the beloved Whippet, named Cory.

Through his agent, Lisa found some photographic references of Cory and Julie was soon underway with the portrait at our studio in North Yorkshire. We knew that Cory had a special bond with Mark and the Knopfler household in general, and the gentle, affectionate nature of the dog shone through. To this day, Julie still says it was one of her favourite pooches to paint. Sadly, Cory passed away a few years ago but had many happy years together with the Knopfler family.