Start off following artist over (5)
I believe the answer is:
extra
'over' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'start off following artist' is the wordplay.
'start off' means to remove the first letter (I've seen 'starting off' mean this (the starting letter is removed)).
'following' becomes 'next' ('next' can be a synonym of 'following').
'artist' becomes 'ra' (Royal Academician, member of Royal Academy of Arts).
'next' with its initial letter taken off is 'ext'.
'ext'+'ra'='EXTRA'
(Other definitions for extra that I've seen before include "Bit player in film" , "spotted at rear of the platoon?" , "Player taking little part" , "lesser player" , "Not a hit certainly" .)