Bucolic painter in trouble, occasionally (5)
I believe the answer is:
rural
'bucolic' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'painter in trouble occasionally' is the wordplay.
'painter' becomes 'RA' (member of the Royal Academy of Arts).
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'occasionally' means one should take alternating letters (letters taken at regular intervals or occasions).
The alternate letters of 'trouble' are 'rul'.
'ra' put into 'rul' is 'RURAL'.
(Other definitions for rural that I've seen before include "Not urban" , "Sort of dean" , "Relating to the countryside" , "Characteristic of the countryside" , "outside the city?" .)