Left an artist to it, thus getting something painted (8)
I believe the answer is:
portrait
'thus getting something painted' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'left an artist to it' is the wordplay.
'left' becomes 'port' (left side of a ship - opposite of starboard).
'an artist' becomes 'RA' (Royal Academician, member of Royal Academy of Arts).
'to' says to put letters next to each other.
'port'+'ra'+'it'='PORTRAIT'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for portrait that I've seen before include "Artistic representation (of a person)" , "Picture of person" , "Painting of a real person" , "Type of painting" , "Person's picture" .)