Crossword Genius

Cunning in painting? (10)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

artfulness

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'cunning in painting?' is the definition.
'artfulness' can be an answer for 'cunning' (thesaurus). I'm unsure of the 'in painting?' bit.

'cunning in painting?' is the wordplay.
'cunning' becomes 'artful' (similar in meaning).
'in painting?' becomes 'ness' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'artful'+'ness'='ARTFULNESS'

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.
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