The incredible blinking trick that will turn these famous faces from black and white into COLOUR (and the clue is on their nose!)

To see the images in colour just look at the picture's white dot for 20 seconds, look away, blink, then look back
The eye's cone cells are over-stimulated when we are staring at the image and send a weak signal to our brain
This tricks the brain into thinking the eye is looking at colour and they then become muted to compensate
Bringing black and whites alive with this ingenious technique was done by Irish artist Matt Loughrey, 40

Published: 07:13 EDT, 18 October 2018 | Updated: 08:20 EDT, 18 October 2018

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These stunning pictures trick your brain to make you see them in colour - when they are really black and white.

From Janet Leigh screaming in Psycho's iconic shower scene to Marilyn Monroe's famous cigarette pose, you can bring monochrome faces alive using just your mind.

Simply stare at the white dot (on the subjects' noses) for 20 seconds, look away, blink, then look back. Can you see the colours?

President Abraham Lincoln has an iconic appearance topped with his bushy beard and majestic top hot and the new method brings the black and white images of the great US president colourises the image by tricking the brain

Actress Marilyn Monroe, pictured here in 1955 at Costello's restaurant in New York City with a cigarette, is one of the most recognisable women of the 20th century

This ingenious method of bringing black and white images alive was masterminded by Irish artist Matt Loughrey, 40.

The painstaking process involves him colouring every inch of the images himself using special software then converting them to negatives.

'It takes a tremendous amount of time,' said Mr Loughrey.

'I use a WACOM mobile studio pro and apply the colour by hand to everything in the scene.'

Former US President Abraham Lincoln and American outlaw Clyde Barrow are among the famous faces he has turned into colour images.

He added: 'It is quite magical, thought provoking and above all interactive.'

Step-by-step: How do I view the black and white pictures in colour?

1. Position your screen around 20cm from your eyes and concentrate on the small white dot at the centre of the image.

2. Stare at this dot for around twenty seconds and then immediately look away from the screen - to a room wall or a ceiling.

3. Blink a few times, hold your gaze and you'll see the photography magically colourised.

Criminals in colour: Texan outlaw Clyde Barrow (left) and Italian-American mobster Charles 'Lucky' Luciano (right) are brought to life in the modern era with the novel technique

Clarence Anglin, a man who escaped from Alcatraz prison in June 1962 and was never seen again, is seen here by staring at the dot for 20 seconds then turning to a blank wall or ceiling and blinking a few times

Louise Beaudet, an actress, singer and dancer was a silent film star and appeared in more than 50 silent movies before her death in 1947

Explaining how the mind trick works, he said: 'When you focus on a picture, the cone cells (used for colour) in our eyes become over-stimulated.

'After a short period of time these cone cells are only sending a weak signal to your brain telling you what colour you're looking at.

'This in turn makes the colour muted and when your move your eyes to a blank space like an indoor wall or ceiling, your brain will compensate for that lack of information.'

This means when you look back at the image you will see it in colour.

Astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth. As well as a fighter pilot in World War II and Democratic United States Senator from Ohio is an American hero who is seen here in his Nasa spacesuit

Sioux tribesman Iron White Man, who travelled with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. The eye's cone cells are over-stimulated when we are staring at the image and send a weak signal to our brain

The stimulation of the cones tricks the brain into thinking the eye is looking at colour and they then become muted to compensate Bringing black and whites alive with this ingenious technique was created by Irish artist Matt Loughrey, 40

General Sherman, an American Army Commander during the American Civil War and subsequent Indian Wars. Sherman was known for his brilliant strategies but attracted criticism for his brutality

The painstaking process involves him colouring every inch of the the images himself using special software then converting them to negatives. 'It takes a tremendous amount of time,' said Mr Loughrey