I can do it okay using an empty board (like Luzhin). But I can’t picture 64 squares at once and their colors. Say black has N at b4. White can pin it to a black R on 8. Which file? What color square.
I can’t picture it instantly. I have to reason it. All I can do blindfold is based on reasoning. Eg, white KB is on a light square. I just memorize that. Or reason that it is 2 over from the light long diagonal which I just memorize is light. And I know white KB can unpin a f3 N, be blocked in by d3, defend e4, attack f7 from c4, pin a c6 N to e8, and infiltrate at a6. So I get that all those squares are light. And similarly or relatedly for black QB.
But what about the g1 to a7 diagonal. That one is a lot less “meaningful”. So to get b6 I might have to get its color from b5.
This isn’t direct visualization. Mental picturing. Now I'm sure everyone does a lot of what I just described to play blindfold. And I remember a comment once (which I can’t verify as fact) that for totally random chess positions on a board, GMs can’t memorize them at a glance much better than low level players do.
But still I assume some element of pure visualization is necessary that I lack. I know players rated much lower than me who do it much much much better than me. Maybe I can practice more. But I still end up doing more reasoning than picturing. Like subtracting two coordinates to calculate an odd or even difference to infer same color or not.
When you play blindfold, do you picture the whole board at once and concentrate on certain areas while still having the rest in view? Or is it you are using a flashlight that only illuminates small areas and specific relationships, and you have to scan around and think about what to check to know what’s going on? And do you practice testing or memorizing the colors of squares at random?