De lo vivo a lo pintado
 

I can't figure out what this phrase means.

Do you have some context?

It would mean to me, how a painter would show reality.

I.e., he would see a "live scene", and the reflect that in his paintings.

Like at Salvador Dalí's Museum, at Figueres (Girona, Spain), I saw a "little" painting he had in a corner.

It was just a bread. But it was amazingly real..., better than any photograph.
He was able to go from the "live reality" into the "painted reality" with an amazing ease.

Again, I don't know what is your context, but that's my first impression.

Saludos cordiales, Poli.

It's generally used to point the huge differences between two related things or two different approaches to the same thing; similar to "del dicho al hecho... (hay mucho trecho)", the latter specifically used to point out the difference between the declared intentions and the real actions.

"De lo vivo a lo pintado" evokes the cartoon image showing a splendid house or car that suddenly moves down revealing it's a picture that was covering the view of the real thing, which is a lemon. However it's not necessarily used as a negative thing and it's widely used to depict different points of view or even meta-messages.

[a lemon is "una batata" in Argentina, how do they call that in other countries?]

Alec, I just checked with someone from Colombia who said there is no exact term for lemon or batata in his region, but stated the Caribbean catchall phrase, una porquería as a term that would surfice.

I think that catch-all phrase is quite universal. We also use cacharro, trasto/traste. Chatarra for machinery, vehicles and whatnot; and in addition, specifically for cars, carcacha/o and cafetera. And the ubiquitous cachivache, if not the Caribbean viejera.

In reference to cars, viejera and chatarra usually refers to an old vehicle. In USA English, we use a piece of tin or a bomb for that. A term that is very specific to cars but used less now (I think) is jalopy. Only new ones that brake down a lot are referred to as lemons.

We call batata any car that lives many of its days in the repair shop, either because it's old and worn, or new and badly designed or manufactured, or second hand of any age which has been not maintained in good conditions so it's bound to break down a lot. Additionally, they can be pegged, in order, as un vejestorio, una porquería and ...

-"¡te vieron la cara, querido!"
-"Es que me lo pintaron como una oportunidad.

En teoría era una buena compra"

Porque "una cosa es la teoría y otra la práctica", another way to say one of the meanings of "de lo vivo a lo pintado".

[which takes us back to the topic of the thread]

@ Poli: What is the context where you got the expression from?

It could make a big difference on meaning, or just a nuance. But any word or expression could mean many different things, depending on where it is...

JPablo, the term lemon comes from a time not in the recent past when new expensive products performed badly. Pardon me Ford, but an old joke went that F.O.R.D. meant found on the road dead. Example: You buy a new car and it starts leaking oil or the door falls off, a new washing machine stops in the middle of a cycle and starts smoking. There have been lemon laws in which aided the consumer to get their money back on a new car that just wasn't performing.

Thanks for your explanation Alec. That clarifies it. It's almost like mosquita muerta which is something that seems benign, but in reality, bites. ¿Estoy en los cierto?

In Mexico, mostly in the North, obviously influenced by the USA expression, many people say "un limón" for a used old car that won't actually work.
We don't really have a word equivalent to "batata", but we use a lot "porquería" or "mugre" for something we bought expecting a performance that is far better than the one we get.
- El carro me salió una porquería. Me deja tirada en la calle a cada rato.
- Este teléfono es una mugre. La batería no le dura nada.

@Poli: "Mosquita muerta" is only used for people, because they have an intention to deceive. Objects do not have this intention. :)