What am I doing wrong?

Well this is a difficult question...

Not having the sugar become a grainy mess is your second biggest-challenge when making caramel. The first is getting it to just the right color; no more, no less.

The color can be best described as that of an old copper penny. Perfect caramel should be cooked until it’s dark, reddish-brown, and just past the point where it starts to smoke. Some recipes advise cooking caramel until it ‘starts’ to smoke—but that’s too soon...

This may sound weird but I take a sniff once it begins to turn amber-colored and darken; if you keep smelling it, it’s fairly easy to gauge when it goes from slightly-cooked…to almost-there…to deep, rich-caramel perfection. If you screw it up, a cup of sugar is pretty cheap in case you overdo it and after you make caramel once or twice, you should get the hang of it....

Make sure you have a good saucepan or skillet.... Whatever pan you use, make sure it’s light-colored, heavy-duty and solid. And any utensils, like spatulas you’ll be using to stir should be able to withstand the heat....

There are a lot of recipes out there...and all I have to go buy is mine...I think the main trick I learned along the way is to keep the temp down and that is difficult sometimes...because you think candy should be cooked on a higher heat...all that does is cause the sugar to burn...

One other tip I learned from my mom was to use pure cane sugar...

Good luck ! ! !

Perhaps you are trying to make it the colour of bought caramel which has added artificial colouring.

The temperature is the deciding factor, not the colour.

It sounds like you are cooking it on too high of a heat, start on a low heat and gradually make it hotter as it starts to melt.