"portray an image" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use this phrase when you want to describe a verbal or visual representation of a scene or idea. For example, "The painting's vivid colors portray an image of a summer meadow."
I get very nervous before races I just portray an image of calm.
"The tyrants here are trying to portray an image of Cuba as an island of happy people.
Getting Mr. Strauss-Kahn released will help the defense portray an image of him on their own terms — as a clean-cut businessman.
Federal elections scheduled for 2013 were close enough that political parties were attempting to portray an image of internal cohesion while still far enough away that campaigns had not yet polarized the parties to the extent of mutual hostility.
If Francis was trying to portray an image of a pope that was floating above America's culture wars, his apparent meeting with Davis puts him right back on the battleground.
The illegible text included concrete poetry, a hybrid of visual and literary art in which words tend to portray an image, so that a poem about an angel might be printed in the form of an angel's wings.
He portrayed an image of what a hero could be to many.
portrayed an image of isolation of the 'golden states' associated with wealth (gold), by dissociating them from the body of the country/dog and associating them with the tail of the animal...
In a statement, the claimants said: "Although the prospectus portrayed an image of the bank being in a state of financial good health and stability, the reality was very different and had the truth been known, the take up of shares under the rights issue would have been severely impacted".
Mr Fortey said: "The phrase 'legal highs' portrays an image of the substances being legal and hence safe.
The noble stance of The Royal Irish Constabulary (14 May 1887) portrays an image of the force that owes much to the style of military handbooks.
