Artist is easy at first to uplift (5)
I believe the answer is:
raise
'uplift' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'artist is easy at first' is the wordplay.
'artist' becomes 'ra' (Royal Academician, member of Royal Academy of Arts).
'at first' suggests taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'easy' is 'e'.
'ra'+'is'+'e'='RAISE'
'to' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for raise that I've seen before include "Hoist" , "Inflate" , "jack up" , "Increase; elevate" , "Make higher" .)