Greensburg woman hand-paints Marine Corps tribute on 'World of Wheels' motorcycle

Building a custom motorcycle is one thing. Building one that honors one’s brothers in arms is another.

At the 60th annual World of Wheels custom car show this weekend at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Todd Keyser of Ligonier is showing off his custom Harley, hand-painted with reminders of his time in the Marine Corps from 1981-85.

“I’d originally bought the bike for my daughter, but she ended up buying a car,” said Keyser, 59. “So I got with my mechanic, Mark McClain from McClain’s Jam Cycle in Acme, and told him I had the crazy idea of building a custom bike.”

After getting the various pieces powder-coated in either red, yellow or black, Keyser had to decide on a theme and decorations.

McClain knew just the person for the job.

Lori Mozina of Greensburg, an art teacher at Franklin Regional Senior High School, is regularly commissioned to create custom, hand-painted pieces for both motorcycles and biker vests.

“Since I teach art full-time, this kind of project is my ‘fun job,’” Mozina said. “I really enjoy military tribute pieces like this.”

She asked Keyser to find some images and themes he wanted in places like the oil tank and fenders.

“I wanted a portrait of Chesty Puller, the most highly decorated Marine in the Marine Corps,” Keyser said. “When we were going through boot camp, everyone knew who Chesty was by the time we were done.”

Keyser also wanted a military dog and an Osprey, the tilt-rotor helicopter used since 2007 by the Marine Corps.

“I wanted to show my support for all my brothers that were fighting for us,” he said. “I gave her a few ideas, but she really brought them to life.”

Bringing them to life was an interesting process, according to Mozina.

“The pieces are black, so I was sort of painting in reverse,” she said. “You’re slowly building thin layers of brightness, as opposed to shading a drawing on a white surface. So everything is painted in very thin layers of white.”

After she finished, she applied three layers of clear coating, two glossy and one satin.

Keyser couldn’t be happier.

“I’ve been trying to get some bike magazines interested in it,” he said. “At the last minute I got a copy of the (World of Wheels) application and sent it on. So hopefully it’ll get some recognition.”

Mozina just wants to see it assembled.

“I don’t always know what the overall design process is supposed to be,” she said. “So it’s really great to see all the pieces put back together. To me, that’s almost like seeing it in a picture frame, because it’s finally finished.”

The World of Wheels custom car show runs through Sunday at the convention center, 1000 Fort Duquesne Boulevard in Downtown Pittsburgh. To see more of Mozina’s work, visit MozinaGraphics.weebly.com.