You don't need to follow PixelFed accounts from PixelFed, you can also follow Mastodon etc accounts and they will look and work like PixelFed posts.
By default it will only show posts with images attached, but you can optionally switch on viewing text-only posts too in the settings menu.
Here's some tips for how to discover accounts:
https://fedi.tips/how-to-use-mastodon-and-the-fediverse-basic-tips/#HowDoIFindPeopleToFollow
Try following accounts from the photography and art categories of these directories.