The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word STUBBS
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
S
T
U
B
B
S
More clues leading to the result STUBBS
- Bits of pencil you could pick up for artist
- Painter picked up cigarette ends
- Painter in squat, mostly silent at first
- . Artist penning book with ends of crayons
- He painted horses, mostly fat, on a ship
- English painter finding stone guest-house in America
- Painter‘s fag ends picked up
- Painter using blunt end of brushes, hollowed out
- One who studied the horses and broadcast tips
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "English painter" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case english painter = stubbs.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.