Characteristics of the eccentric artist (6)
I believe the answer is:
traits
'characteristics' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'eccentric artist' is the wordplay.
'eccentric' indicates anagramming the letters.
'artist' anagrammed gives 'TRAITS'.
'of the' is the link.
(Other definitions for traits that I've seen before include "Features or qualities that distinguish someone's character" , "Personality characteristics" , "Identifying features or qualities" , "Distinguishing features" , "Artist (anag.)" .)