I would post my paintings on Wordpress, I networked with other hobby artists and we would vote and comment on each other's work. I had not a thought of selling my paintings or being paid for my work. I just loved to paint and create beautiful works of art for the pleasure of creating.

When I joined Steemit, I was ignored until my reputation moved above 40 and I was making a few rewards here and there. But the promise of big rewards and the trending page kept me going. Then the curation guild Curie found me and I started making big time rewards. I finally felt as if I was a good enough artist to sell my work! Soon I was raking in 300 Steemit tokens a week. I worked my fingers to the bone creating one painting after another, it really didn't matter what kind of painting I did and the rewards kept coming. My reputation climbed above 60 and suddenly there was no more Curie and I felt abandoned. No one liked me anymore.....

However, now I have a big fat account and I am a dolphin, I can swim freely through the Steemit Ocean and invest my hard won rewards! I can buy or sell votes, delegate or lease my SP, sell some of my rewards on the crypto-markets and buy other cryptocurrencies. So even though I felt abandoned, I now see I have been set free!