watercolors and the color red

I picked up a watercolor sketchbook - yay! I have my book and watercolors in my bedroom so, that I can end my day with a little painting. This month's creative every day theme is red so, I have been using lots of red in my work.

I am trying to get a feel for how watercolors work exactly. As you see with this feather, I tried applying layers like I do with acrylic paint and it turned out really muddy (see the middle of the feather). I also tried mixing colors directly on the paper as I often do with acrylic instead of on a palette and found that it didn't really work out.

For my next sketch, I lightened up and tried not to have such a heavy hand. The red maple leaf I drew is much looser and I think it works well with the paints softer qualities.

And with this tree sketch, I felt a bit more in control. I had a nice calm feeling while painting, letting the paint lead me instead of me leading it.