It seems that a large part of the issue is which tags the "whales" tend to use most often. There are lots of great creative tags, but since they don't have as many votes, they aren't seen in trending as much, which means that they aren't likely to get traffic later on.

That being said, I love your artwork and I look forward to seeing what else you put out! I think the best thing people can do in the smaller communities around here is to just continue promoting within!