Gijsbertus Derksen went to the Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten (Royal Academy of Fine Arts) in The Hague and the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten (State Academy of Fine Arts) in Amsterdam. Later he had his own studio in his home, where he painted landscapes, most of them en-plein-air, in the Realist, sometimes Impressionist style. He also painted portrairs. Derksen was a member of the artist associations Kunstenaarsvereniging Sint Lucas and Arti et Amicitiae in Amsterdam. He exhibited his work at the exposition ‘Hollandse Levende Meesters’ (Dutch living Masters) in 1907.