I believe it was after reading a book in the mid 1970's about (or by) J. Paul Getty that John developed an interest in oil rigs and decided to create etchings depicting their strength and beauty. He traveled to Texas and Oklahoma to see some first hand.
John's etchings of oil rigs, derricks and platforms became very successful. We were told that they could be seen on some of the sets of "Dallas", a popular TV series about a Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries.
When going through some portfolios recently I was found these hand painted (and a few uncolored) etchings.