Sweet artist devoured by animal (7)
I believe the answer is:
caramel
'sweet' is the definition.
(I know that caramel is a type of sweet)
'artist devoured by animal' is the wordplay.
'artist' becomes 'RA' (Royal Academician, member of Royal Academy of Arts).
'devoured by' is an insertion indicator.
'animal' becomes 'camel' (I've seen this in other clues).
'ra' inserted within 'camel' is 'CARAMEL'.
(Other definitions for caramel that I've seen before include "Browned syrup" , "Chewy sweet - burnt sugar" , "Soft sweet" , "Toffee-like sweet" , "Shade" .)