Painter a little like author Roald, some might say? (4)
I believe the answer is:
dali
'painter' is the definition.
(Salvador Dali)
'a little like author roald some might say?' is the wordplay.
'a little like author roald' becomes 'dal' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'some' indicates the central letters.
'might say?' becomes 'attribute' (might is a kind of attribute).
The middle of 'attribute' is 'i'.
'dal'+'i'='DALI'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dali that I've seen before include "Salvador -, twentieth century artist" , "Tree" , "Surrealist Spanish painter, d. 1989" , "Salvador . . . . was great Spanish surrealist painter" , "Controversial painter" .)