Van DerekDutch born, Australian artist, Van Derek (aka Derk Vanderbent)Author, Occultist, Astrologer..."I never sought creativity, nevertheless I find myself genetically conditioned"Derk came to writing through his interest in art and symbolism. Because of th Chinese elements in his novel, he sought a pseudonym that the Chinese could more easily pronounce, thus Van Derek.Born Derk van der Bent, in Haarlem, Holland in 1946 he arrived in Sydney, Australia in 1953, with his parents and two sisters as Dutch-immigrants on the ten-pound assisted passage scheme. The Vanderbent's art-genetics can be traced to the seventeenth century Baroque Movement and Johannes van der Bent (c. 1650-1690), a prominent Dutch Golden Age painter. Read More Read Less